Hot as Ice
by OcherMe
Summary: [Sequel to Cold as Fire]What have I done to Edward? I screamed to the voice in my head, no longer caring how crazy I looked. If anything happened to him because of me... Oh don't you worry, she assured me. He's alive, and very human. FINISHED!
1. Unhappy Goodbyes

_I'm baaaaaaaack! I was so anxious to get this story out that I haven't written as much of it as I vowed to do before I starting posting. I'm only on chapter 6 and I said I would post once I'd gotten through chapter 8. So, I'll try and write as fast as I can so my posting doesn't catch up with my writing. _

_Anyways, this story will make VERY LITTLE sense unless you have read my previous one called Cold As Fire. I highly recommend you read that one first before you read this one (I guarantee it's a great read!). For those who have read my previous story, if there's anything I haven't explained to satisfaction, just let me know and I will do my best to make it more understandable. _

_Oh, this will not all take place from Bella's POV. The first couple chapters will be, but than as the story seperates I will have to switch to Edward's, and maybe other characters, POVs. I'll put at the beginning whose view it's from though._

_Anyways, this chapter isn't very exciting. I just felt that in my last story I'd ignored Jacob so much that he deserved a chapter. The next chapter is more or less the beginning of the plot. So, I very much hope that this can live up to Cold As Fire's standards! _

_(If I forgot to say anything, let me know!)_

_Enjoy!_

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**Bella's POV**

I glanced around the park to make sure no one had followed me. It's not easy sneaking out of a household of seven non-sleeping vampires. Fortunately I had succeeded, managing to climb out the window of the bathroom without hurting myself, amazingly enough. There was no need to worry about anyone passing by; it was shortly after midnight Tuesday morning and everyone in their right state of mind would be at home tucked under piles of warm blankets.

The icy December air bit mercilessly at my nose and cheeks and every breath sent a billowing cloud of fog into the night air. My only light came from a cheap red flashlight I had purchased at work for a buck ninety-nine. The sallow yellow light streaming out of the plastic tube caught the snowflakes that were slowly dancing to the ground, making them shimmer like little faeries.

A noise in the trees to my left made me jump but I relaxed when the familiar face I had been so anxious to see appeared.

"Jake!" I exclaimed, overjoyed. It had been so long since I'd last seen him. Since Edward had come back from the dead he hadn't allowed me to go anywhere near Jake or anyone else from the reservation. Jake's feelings about this were apparent by the annoyance plastered to his face.

"I see you're talking again," he replied, almost coldly. I sighed, though his behavior was to be expected. However, that did nothing to stop me from being slightly irritated.

"Jake please," I pleaded. "I've missed you." With my words Jake's face twisted into an unfamiliar expression of hurt and longing. He took a few hesitant steps towards me, coming into clearer view. Every time I saw him he seemed to grow taller and more mature. Now he could have easily seemed my senior. I noticed that despite the freezing winter chill he only had on a light and worn out jean jacket.

"I missed you too," he whispered and my heart warmed at his words. It was hard to believe how close I'd come to forgetting his voice. Why did he have to be Edward's mortal enemy?

"I tried to see you…" I began but my voice trailed off when I realized how I must sound. Jake shook his head.

"You don't have to explain yourself. I know your undead boyfriend has been keeping a tight finger around you." I blinked at his words.

"Jake, did you really ask me to meet you just to insult me?" I challenged. His dark face fell slightly. I knew Edward's scent on me couldn't have been helping his anger much. Jake took a few more steps toward me and now we were close enough to touch. At first I thought he was going too, but his arms remained stiffly by his sides. I was faintly surprised to feel disappointment.

"I don't like what he's doing to you," Jake's voice was so caring I couldn't bring myself to feel upset at his words.

"Jacob," I said sincerely. "It's not like that."

"It's not healthy to depend on someone so much," I couldn't help but get slightly annoyed at this. "I hate seeing what happen to you when _he's_ gone." I rubbed my fingers together, trying to warm them through my gloves while contemplating how to reply I knew Jake was only speaking out of concern, but he truly didn't understand.

"That's not for you to worry about." This time it was my turn to sound cold. Why could we just be friends? Why did my relationship with Edward have to come between us? Oh yeah, because they want to kill each other.

"But I do!" Jake exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "I worry about you Bella because I care about you. You can't know how hard it's been not seeing you for so long."

I closed my eyes tightly as unwanted tears made themselves noticed. This wasn't fair. How could I love them both so much? It was true that nothing could compete with my love for Edward, but that didn't stop me from feeling so much for Jake as well.

"I'm sorry Jacob," my voice shook and he wrapped two strong arms around me. Unlike Edward's embrace, this actually felt warm. It amazed me at how comfortable it felt, being this close to whom I had long considered to be my best friend. A slight wave of guilt washed over me as I imagined what Edward's reaction to this closeness would be.

"No, I should be sorry," Jake whispered in my ear. "I didn't mean to upset you." I clutched the hulking body to me tighter, suddenly not caring about right or wrong.

"I love you Bella," Jake said softly after a moment. I stiffened at his words. This was all wrong; I couldn't lead his on like this. I broke out of Jake's tight embrace and turned my back towards him to gather my thoughts.

"Jake…" desperately I hoped my voice would stay strong. "I can't…" I could almost hear the hurt transforming Jake's face.

"I…" Jake's fingers brushed my arms and I quickly turned to face him again. His dark eyes sparkled magnificently in the moonlight. "I have to know…have you ever loved me?"

This time I couldn't stop the tears form rolling down my cheeks and I was sure they would freeze there in the cold. It took me several tries to find my voice.

"I still love you Jake," I murmured, but even as I spoke Edward's perfect face shown vividly in my mind. There could be no competition, no matter how much I cared for Jake. My expression must have made this clear, for Jake's next words were slow and tortured.

"But you love him more," he stated and I could only nod. "Figures."

"You're my best friend Jacob," I cried. "Why can't that be enough?" Jake scoffed.

"Friends?" he laughed, though there was no humor in his voice. "How well do you think we can be friends when we are forced to meet in the middle of the night without anyone else's knowledge? How long do you think it will take your bloodsucking boyfriend to discover our so-called 'friendship'? I'm sure he would react well."

My jaw trembled, though it wasn't from the cold. Jake's words were like a knife driving through my heart, all my fears verbally confirmed.

"I didn't mean for it to be this way," I claimed softly. Jake shook his head and all fell quite. I didn't know what to say so I remained silent, allowing Jake to sort through his thoughts. Eventually he spoke again.

"The Volturi have contacted us," he stated plainly. I gaped in surprise.

"The Volturi?" I repeated like a parrot. Something flashed across Jake's face, his brow knitting together.

"You know of them?" he asked, sounding slightly wary. I realized how little Jake knew of what had occurred in my vampire infused world. It was slightly unnerving, having so many secrets from everyone close to me, everyone who was still breathing at least.

"A little too well," I remarked darkly. "I'm more surprised that you know of them."

"Well I didn't until a few days ago," Jake replied and I was happy that our conversation was coming easier again. "One of them, Aro?" he glanced at me for confirmation and I nodded "he came to Sam. He warned us to suspend the treaty. That we were not to make any trouble with your vampire friends or we should all suffer in some horrible way that Sam didn't want to specify." Jake paused, allowing me to process what he had said.

"Oh," I remarked pathetically. Jake's face contorted into stark disapproval.

"Now why might they request that?" His question was biting. I was too surprised to answer. It shocked me, the lengths the Volturi were going to ensure my conversion. Edward would be furious, although I really didn't have to tell him.

A slight gasp from Jake drew me out of my thoughts. I realized my silence must have confirmed his obvious fears.

"You're not going to…" he swallowed hard "…to change into one of them?" I bit my lip, trying to figure out how to answer that without Jake going completely berserk. It was pretty much a lost cause from the start.

"You're not going to like my answer," I warned and Jake's deep brown eyes flashed dangerously.

"Bella!" he exclaimed loudly and I desperately hoped no one heard him. I also know it wouldn't be much longer until Edward noticed I was missing, if he hadn't already. Even with all the precautions I had taken I knew it wouldn't be very difficult for him to locate me.

"Jake, I don't have a choice!" I tried for a different approach. It didn't seem to help much.

"Of course you do,' his voice was strained. "You always have a choice. It's your life!" I sighed heavily, deciding whether to omit the fact that I wanted to become a vampire, although I suspected Jake already inferred that.

"You don't understand," I explained. "The Volturi are the most powerful vampires in existence. There is no denying them what they want." Jake was obviously incredibly distressed. He was pacing a hard path into the snow before me, his hand compulsively rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why do they want you so much?" he questioned and I frowned. This was puzzling me as well.

"I'm not sure," I replied truthfully. "They're awfully impatient about it though." I was sure a million gears were turning in Jake's head.

"We can hide you," he offered desperately. "We'll take you far away, where they can't find you." I shook my head sadly.

"Impossible," I remarked. "Each of the Volturi are chosen for their special abilities. There is no place we could hide where they couldn't find us." Jake's lips pursed as he pursued other possibilities.

"We'll fight them," he said forcefully. "Werewolves are a bloodsuckers most powerful enemy." I shook my head again.

"Jake, they far outnumber you, not to imagine the immensity of their abilities," I put as knowingly as I could. "They'll kill you in an instant." Jake gaped at me wordlessly.

"You want to be changed, don't you?" his voice was laced with horror and disgust. "You want to be one of them." I dropped my gaze to the snowy ground.

"Jake, I know you don't approve, but I love Edward," I said sincerely. "And I can't truly be with him unless…" Jake growled deep in his throat.

"I don't suppose there's anything I can do to stop you?" The hopelessness in Jake's words very nearly broke my heart.

"Not unless you want the wrath of the Volturi down on your shoulders," I remarked, raising my eyebrows.

"I guess this is goodbye then." Fresh tears sprang to my eyes at Jake's words.

"No," I shook my head. "Don't say that." Jake's eyes bore into mind, as if trying to memorize my face from the last time.

"Bella, either I have you or I don't. I can't linger somewhere in between, I love you too much." I flung myself at Jake, wrapping my arms around him tightly. He immediately returned the gesture, laying his cheek on the top of my head. The warmth of his skin seeped through my hair, and I was reminded how different he was from Edward.

"This isn't the end," I promised. "Not for good." Jake sighed deeply.

"I didn't want this for you," he breathed before quite suddenly pressing his lips to mine. Impulsively I kissed him back before I realized what I was doing. An embarrassing shame came over me at my actions. How did Jake manage to do this to me?

He turned as if to leave and I felt my throat constrict sharply. It surprised me how much I hated to see him leave. Brief relief spread through me as he turned back toward me, one last time.

"I'm curious," he said as if something had been bugging him for a long time. "How did you do it? How did you bring Edward back from the dead?" I paused before answering, trying to decide how much to reveal. I figured it was best to leave out the part about having to stop my own heart.

"I'm not exactly sure," I replied as vaguely as I possibly could. "I had help." Jake didn't appear nearly satisfied with my answer, but to my relief he let the subject alone.

"What did you tell Charlie?" he questioned instead and I had to smile at this one, remember my father's baffled expression.

"That Edward had witnessed a violent crime and had to enter the witness protection program until the culprit was caught," I couldn't keep the mirth out of my voice. Jake stared at me incredulously.

"He believed that?" I chuckled at Jake's unbelieving eyes. I had a hard time believing it myself.

"I know, poor Charlie," I replied before abruptly realizing what the time must be. Jake must've noticed my change in expression, for his face fell suddenly.

"You have to go." It wasn't a question. I nodded reluctantly. I was slightly surprised no one had found me yet.

"I'm sorry Jake," my voice wavered dangerously. Jake smiled sadly.

"I'll miss you," he said and I was surprised to see a tear trail down his cheek. "Just…try and be safe." With that I suddenly found myself very alone.

I didn't even try to stop the tears that were flowing freely down my cheeks. I had gotten back my true love but had lost my best friend. Nothing in life seems to work out how you want it. The cold made me shiver violently, but I hardly cared. All I could think about was the expression of hurt and loss that marred Jake's handsome features as he walked away.

Suddenly I became away for another presence and I turned around sharply, nearly stumbling in the thick snow. My eyes narrowed as I took in Jane's permanently young visage, the very last thing that I had expected to see at this moment, not to mention the last thing I wanted to see. She chuckled at my clumsiness before smoothly transforming her face into a frown.

"Do I smell dog?" her voice was dripping with revulsion. I glared daggers at her.

"What are you doing here Jane?" I snapped at her. Jane clucked her tongue in disappointment.

"I think you know. Your sentimental boyfriend has been putting off your transformation for far too long and the Volturi are starting to get impatient," Jane explained, a menacing glint in her blood-red eyes. "We're simply here to ensure that everything goes according to plan."

"We?" I questioned. Jane nodded, looking rather bored all of a sudden.

"I believe you know Ryan. He's with Edward at this moment, rendering him unable to find your scent or trail," I sensed an undertone of amusement in her words. "I did enjoy your little chat with the werewolf. Very heartbreaking. It is quite amazing the creatures you manage to involve yourself with." I was shaking again, but this time it wasn't with cold.

"You were watching?" I desperately tried to control my anger. Even through Jane's pain-inflicting power failed to work on me, she could still cause me more damage that I could to her. Much more damage.

"It nearly brought tears to my eyes. I'm sure Edward would very much like to know what you talked about." I loathed the creature before me with every fiber of my being.

"No," I breathed. "Don't tell him." Jane's face took a mock-serious expression.

"I may or may not," her teeth gleamed in the moonlight. "Depends on my mood." I closed my eyes tightly, wishing I had taken up Zen meditation or something that could keep my anger at bay.

"Shall we head back?" she suggested lightly, like we were long-time friends. "I'm sure Edward is overly anxious about you and I know how easily you humans get sick in the cold. We wouldn't want that now, would we?"

Without even bothering to respond I turned and began to march back home, concentrating extra hard on trying not to trip, which Jane so obviously enjoyed. My emotions were so mudded I really couldn't tell left from right and eventually Jane took the lead, much to my silent disapproval.

It wasn't long, however, until we came upon a rather furious Edward.

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_Ok, so now Jake has gotten his two-cents worth in. I promise Edward in the next chapter, beaucoup! Review what you thought! I'm anxious to know! Also, let me know what you think of the summary. I'm not sure how much I like it..._


	2. Voices

_Wow, 20 reviews already! I'm impressed! You guys are seriously the greatest readers in the world! I'm really happy you all liked the first chapter as well. Unfortunately for all the Jake-lovers he won't show up again for a while, all the Jake-haters however can be quite happy!_

_Anyways, I forgot to say that I am going to continue my posting schedule from part one, posting every other day. That gives me enough time to write so that my posting doesn't catch up with my writing. I will be going on vacation for two weeks near the end of July, but I'll try and work something out...It really sucks though because I won't be getting back until August 11, and Eclipse comes out August 7! My dad has already ordered it for me on so he won't let me buy another copy! Plus he doesn't want my nose stuck in a book while were on vacation! I'm going to go crazy! Life is not fair!_

_So, I have to apologize again for the lack of action. The beginning chapters of this story are rather low-key, with more dialogue than anything else. I hope you still enjoy them though! I have to get to plot all set up, I promise that eventually it will pick up the pace. Anyways, enough talk!_

_Enjoy!_

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**Bella's POV**

Edward was appalled that Jane had found me first. His grip nearly crushed my arm as he pulled me protectively to his side. I unsuccessfully tried to ignore the firey glares being sent in my direction. True to Jane's word, Ryan appeared close behind Edward, a satisfactory grin plastered to his face.

"What were you thinking?" Edward hissed at me and I was rather taken aback by the hostility in his voice. I had expected him to mad of course, but not down-right furious. My head hung in shame.

"Don't worry," Jane's voice was sickeningly sweet. "I made sure her little werewolf friend would cause her no harm." Ryan's nose wrinkled.

"That's what I smell," he said distastefully. "Revolting." Edward stiffened perceptively beside me.

"You went to see Jacob?" I frowned at the animosity in his tone.

"He's my friend Edward," I bit back harshly. "I believe I am still allowed to see my friends, am I not?" I didn't really want to start a fight with Edward, especially after my disappointment with Jake, but he was acting irrationally.

An unhappy growl vibrated in his throat and I crossed my arms across my chest impatiently. I could tell Jane was very much enjoying the tension growing between us, but I refused to apologize. I saw no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to visit with my best friend.

"Perhaps we should head back home?" I resented Jane's loose use of the word 'home'. Edward grumbled inaudibly, his grip never loosening from my arm as he began to march forcefully in the direction we had come, causing me to stumble awkwardly behind him.

We hadn't traveled very far when it happened. I stopped, gasping for breath, unable to move any further. A throbbing pain pounded in my head, as if a million hammers were striking me at once. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, willing the pain away. Edward's voice, startlingly loud, caused the unbearable pulsing to increase and my hands automatically rose to press against my ears to block out any painful noises.

I became sharply aware of the approaching ground as my knees gave out beneath me, though thankfully I was spared the force of contact by Edward's firm arms. Slowly, the pain began to ebb and I was able to blink my eyes open, Edward's concerned face was surprisingly close. His pale hand gently caressed my coated arm. I lowered my hands from my ears hesitantly.

"Bella?" Edward's voice no longer pierced my ears. Instead it warmed me like a glass of wine, all anger at my eluding him gone.

"I'm ok," I said, though I knew Edward wouldn't believe me. His perfect face contorted into a concerned frown.

"What happened?" his gentle voice probed and I shook my head, unsure myself.

"Just a headache," I replied and Edward helped me shakily to my feet. All remnants of the pain I had just experienced were gone, it could have been as if nothing had ever happened at all. I noticed Jane and Ryan looking at me curiously, as if I were some lab specimen to be studied.

"Were going to Carlisle," Edward said firmly, his eyes daring me to argue with him. I sighed, hating to make a fuss over myself, but I knew there was no point in trying to go against Edward. He would win either way and I might as well make this as least embarrassing for myself as I could.

_He won't be able to help you,_ a sultry smooth voice rang in my head. I looked at Jane, but she was whispering quietly to Ryan, too low for me to make out. I looked around wildly for who had spoken.

"Who said that?" I asked loudly, squinting to try and make out any shape in the surrounding trees. I didn't like for anyone to be watching us unannounced. Edward's face remained blank as he stared at me.

"Who said what Bella?" His voice was gentle, concerned for my wellbeing. "What did you hear?" I nearly balked. How had he not heard that? It had sounded so close.

_They can't hear me,_ the honey voice echoed in my ears. My head whipped around, again trying futilely to locate the speaker.

"Where are you?" I shouted, turning in a quick circle, ignoring Edward's concerned glances.

"Bella, who are you talking to?" Edward gently probed. I furrowed my brow in frustration, beginning to doubt my own sanity.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed exasperated. "I just heard her!" The voice had been seductively low, though definitely female, possessing the smooth and flawless quality I had only heard from vampires. Yet, how was I the only one who had had heard her?

I glanced in the direction of the other two vampires, hoping they would have heard it as well and could back me up. However, I was sorely disappointed to see their faces looking just as blank as Edward's had been. When my eye caught Jane's she smiled, almost reassuringly, and something flashed across her face, gone as soon as it had come. It was really too quick for me to be certain, but it had seemed rather expectant, like she had been anticipating this. I quickly shook the thought from my head.

Turning back to Edward I blushed in embarrassment.

"Do you hear anyone else?" I asked him hesitantly. "Their thoughts I mean." Edward shook his head, his eyes lit with concern.

"No," he replied, his hand tightening on mine. "We're alone." I sighed and let Edward wrap an arm tightly around my shoulders. I vaguely noticed that Jane and Ryan had disappeared, most likely heading to the Cullen's household before us.

"Let's get you to Carlisle," Edward said softly as we began again in the direction of home. I didn't even try to argue, even though I absolutely hated being the center of attention. I always seemed to manage to embarrass myself.

We arrived at the large white house within the hour and I was anxious to get inside and warm my freezing hands and feet. I had continued to live with the Cullens, much to Charlie's loudly expressed dislike, but it wasn't like we had much of a choice. No one even wanted to consider the outcome of what would happen if we were to violate our side of the deal with the Volturi – as long as I was human I was required to be in the vampire's constant presence.

As we stepped inside I was greeted by the overwhelming smell of holly and pine as well as countless garishly bright Christmas decorations. It seemed that having a human in the house had given Alice an opportune excuse to deck the house quite outlandishly. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it, so I found no need to object, even though December had barely started and there were still several weeks until Christmas day.

Alice, Jasper, and Esme were waiting nervously in the red and green adorned living room; Edward had obviously made my absence known before he had left to find me. They were immediately by my side, Esme removing my coat and gloves, Alice questioning me relentlessly. Apparently she had seen my collapse and had been worried sick. I assured her I was fine, leaving out the slight fact that I was hearing a voice that no one else could hear.

Offhandedly I noticed Jane and Ryan observing inconspicuously from a corner of the large room, occasionally leaning close to confer something with the other. Something about their presence here was bugging me; there was something more ominous about it than the other routine check-ups that the Volturi sent. I didn't like it.

"You must be freezing!" Esme fretted, bringing me back to the present situation. In fact, I was quite cold, though I was loathe to admit it. Living with seven other-worldly creatures for nearly six months had made me starkly aware of my obnoxious human needs. I smiled reassuringly at Esme.

"I'm ok," I insisted, suddenly wishing to be alone. "I think I'll just go take a shower." The overwhelming fatigue and despair that had been slowly setting in over me since my farewell to Jake seemed to disappear and was replaced with a lighter, more calming disposition. I nodded towards Jasper gratefully and he smiled slightly in return. Over the past several months Jasper had become more comfortable around me, he no longer wore the guarded and controlled look whenever I entered the room or we happened to be sitting close by. In fact, as I got to know the blond vampire better I found I actually enjoyed his presence. He reminded me quite a lot of Angela, my human friend from school, in his quiet, yet understanding manner.

I made my way up the stairs, Edward following loyally by my side. Nothing was spoken and he waited patiently while I warmed my icicle muscles in the nearly scorching shower. I took my time toweling off and drying my hair, Jake's heartbroken face imprinted in my mind. I hated hurting him like that. I suppose there was no way around it. Nothing could make me give up Edward, my Romeo.

As I entered his room I saw he was scanning through his swiftly regrowing CD collection. I have to say, I was quite impressed at how quickly he had replaced most of the music I had destroyed when he had been dead. Amazingly he had acquired, through means unknown to me, an even more expensive and dynamic stereo system along with a new wardrobe, although that wasn't too different from the original. The strangest addition to Edward's room was the large double bed, shoved awkwardly in the corner. Though I had assured him I was perfectly fine sleeping on his couch he had insisted on the bed, wanting me to continue living as normally as possible.

Moving more gracefully than the highest paid dancer he selected a CD and fed it into his ridiculously large stereo. I was thankful when light classical music drifted quietly through the room. Although I liked most of Edward's music, I really wasn't in the mood for anything heavy.

_That's impressive._ I jumped slightly as the smooth voice echoed in my head. Edward made no indication of having hear anything, so I tried to hold myself as normally as I could, which was considerably difficult.

_I never would have imagined such technology,_ the voice rang again and I had to bite my tongue to keep from remarking. So, whoever was in my head was from the Stone Age. How nice. I nearly laughed out loud at the nature of my thoughts. Thank God they were shut off from Edward's mind-reading power.

I felt a chill spread down my back and I realized Edward had placed himself next to me and was stroking me gently with an icy hand. Smiling in delight I forgot about the unknown voice momentarily and simply relished in my Edward's presence. His hand slowly dropped to wrap around my waist and I pressed myself against him tightly. His perfect face leaned down to mine; the mouthwateringly sweet scent of his quiet breath filled me with ecstasy and I moved my lips to press against his.

The sensation of the kiss nearly stopped my heart. For brief seconds my mind was filled with nothing except the perfectness of the being wrapped in my arms, the wonder that I could actually call him mine. Then, all too soon, I felt my angel pull away and I thought my heart might drop to my feet. His eyes lingered on my face briefly and I was troubled by the emotions storming in their amber depths.

"You're upset," I stated bluntly and Edward's arms rose to cross against his chest.

"Bella, you climbed out of a window," Edward raised his eyebrows accusatorily and I cocked my head in challenge. "Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?"

_Good question,_ the voice in my head said lightly, as if in afterthought. I ignored it.

"I know you don't approve, but I care about Jake," I sighed, knowing my reasoning would prove useless. "As a friend," I added for good measure.

"That's certainly not what Jacob thinks of you," Edward scoffed and I crossed my own arms sternly, copying his commanding pose.

"He wanted to see me," I explained, somewhat harshly. I understood Edward's dislike towards Jake, they did happen to be mortal enemies, but it didn't stop me from being slightly irked by his constant denial of allowing me to see him. "He said it was important."

"And was it?" Edward's tone was slightly accusatory and it suddenly dawned on me that he was jealous. The thought nearly made me laugh, though luckily I managed to refrain myself. Somehow I guessed mirth would not serve me well in this situation.

_Wise choice,_ the voice responded to my thoughts and I sighed; just when I believed my mind to be private…This could possibly become annoying.

I hesitated before answering. The subject of my change into vampirism was still quite touchy on Edward's part, I avoided bringing it up whenever possible. Not that it didn't frustrate me to all ends that Edward was putting it off until the last possible moment, it just seemed that every time the subject arose we ended up fighting. The last time I had attempted to rationally talk to Edward about it had been on my nineteenth birthday. He had no idea how much it scared me to be two years older than him. I tried to convince myself that the fear was irrational, that it would change nothing about our relationship, but somehow I felt as if my life was slipping away. To me, nineteen seemed no different than ninety. Every day since my birthday I had dreamed of myself as an old woman, wrinkled and weak, while Edward remained his usual godly self. Every day I had awoken violently, my hands rising to my face to assure myself I had not aged overnight.

However, no matter how much I loathed to tell Edward, with his heavenly eyes melting into mine there was no way I could resist. Even after nearly two years I was still a sucker to his breathtaking gaze.

"The Volturi have contacted the werewolves in La Push," I relayed, mentally kicking myself for succumbing so easily. "They want them to drop the treaty for the time being." Edward's eyes flared angrily, as I knew they would. His hands pressed together tightly, and I felt anxious just watching him.

"Bella…" Edward's voice was hesitant, unsure of what to say.

"Edward please," I pleaded. "I know what you're thinking. But it's going to have to happen sometime."

"It shouldn't…" he half-whispered and I smiled soothingly, laying a hand on his sweatered arm. "I'm sorry Bella."

"Don't be sorry," I instructed. "I know you try to deny it, but this is what I truly want. Plus, you know why Jane and Ryan are here. They aren't going to leave until it happens." I was extra careful to leave out any form of the words changing, biting, or vampirism.

"Nothing is going to change my feelings about this," Edward stated plainly. At least it wasn't a complete refusal. He didn't necessarily have to like it, just as long as he did it I, and the Volturi, would be happy.

_Edward is right,_ the infuriatingly smooth voice in my head remarked. _You need to stay human._ This time I couldn't control myself.

"Shut up!" I whispered harshly. Edward raised an eyebrow at me. I blushed tomato red.

"Who are you talking to Bella?" he asked in a somewhat amused tone. I was spared answering by a light knocking on the door. Edward narrowed his eyes at me childishly before moving faster than I could see to open the door. Carlisle stood in the doorway, looking unfairly like he had just finished modeling for an expensive clothing company. I chided myself for my thoughts, you think by now I would be used to the vampire's perfectness.

"I heard Bella was back," Carlisle exclaimed softly, as if subtly questioning whether it was an appropriate time for him to intrude. Edward swung the door wide and beckoned Carlisle to enter. He did so more gracefully than should be allowed, his eyes automatically scanning my body to check for any sign of injury or illness.

"Alice said she had a vision," Carlisle's eyes flickered between us, obviously seeking an explanation. "She saw Bella collapse." I glared at Edward, daring him to say anything. He smiled back at me maliciously."

"Oh Bella did more than just collapse," Edward's voice was almost teasing. "She's hearing voices."

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_Dun dun dun! Review what you thought! Dialogue is the hardest for me to write, so I welcome all comments for me to improve! See you Wednesday!_


	3. Sharp Troubles

_I must say, I really am blown away by all your wonderful reviews! Thanks to each and every one of you who so graciously take the time to let me know what you think. I thank the ones who don't as well, for simply enjoying (hopefully) this story, but you must know the only reason I keep posting chapters is so I can know what you think of them. Maybe, if I get enough reviews, I'll feel like updating again tomorrow, rather than Friday..._

_Anyways, this chapter feels kind of disjointed to me, I'm not sure whether I moved too fast or too slow. I'll let you be the judge!_

_Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!_

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**Bella's POV**

"Voices?" Carlisle's voice was surprised. I'm sure that was not the first thing he had expected to hear. I reminded myself to beat Edward later, merely for my satisfaction. I knew I wouldn't win; my attempts to get back at Edward usually ended in my being tickled mercilessly.

"Just one," I corrected, glaring at Edward. Carlisle nodded thoughtfully.

"And does this voice speak to you?" he asked, stepping closer to me. My head bobbed in confirmation. Edward stepped to the side, handing the situation over to Carlisle.

"What does it say?" I sighed and glared at Edward who shrugged innocently. Now to top everything off, they were going to think I was crazy.

"Well, she likes Edward's stereo system," I stated lightly. Carlisle raised an amused eyebrow. I suppose I never ceased to surprise them.

"She?" Carlisle egged on. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, she. No, I don't know who _she_ is," I answered his unspoken questions. "It just happened a couple hours ago in the forest. Anyways, she said there was nothing you could to do help it." Carlisle and Edward shared a glance.

"Bella," Carlisle started gently and I knew what was coming. "It's not unheard of for humans to hear voices, particularly when placed in prolonged high-stress situations…"

"I'm not crazy!" I cut Carlisle off before he could go on. "I don't have schizophrenia or bipolar or whatever you think."

"I'm not saying you're crazy," Carlisle rebuffed with obvious experience. I wonder if he had ever had patients who heard voices. "I am merely trying to come up with an explanation for the situation."

"Whatever he's doing, he's way off mark," the voice rang in my head and I tensed to keep from saying anything. Edward must've noticed because he was suddenly by my side, his arms crossed in a no-nonsense manner.

"What did she say?" he asked and I shifted on my feet uncomfortably. So much for avoiding the spotlight.

"That he's wrong," I replied, looking directly at Edward. I decided to add something in for my own measure. "That I'm not crazy!" I turned back to Carlisle.

"Hey, Edward hears voices!" I knew that one was a lost cause before the words even finished leaving my mouth. Carlisle's brow knit together as Edward threw his arms up in the air.

"That's because I'm a vampire Bella," Edward said gently, as if I was a little slow in the head. "Besides, I hear thoughts, not someone talking directly to me."

"So," I shot back, feeling ridiculously like a two year old. I was sorely tempted to stick my tongue out at him.

"It's alright Bella," Carlisle comforted, stepping between us before anything else could be said. I pursed my lips and looked to the floor self-consciously. "We don't have to discuss this right now." I nodded in vehement agreement. The quicker this conversation ended, the better. I could feel his gaze heavily on my face.

"You should get some sleep," he instructed and for the first time I noticed how tired I was. It must be nearly dawn. "We'll deal with our 'guests' when you wake back up." With that he exited the room, leaving Edward and me awkwardly alone. I ignored him pointedly as I stalked over to the large bed and flung myself forcefully on top, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Edward switched off the lights and positioned himself beside me in a much more graceful manner, his finger tracing light circles on my arm. I closed my eyes, silently enjoying his closeness. It was hard to stay mad at the angel beside me.

In the darkness of the room it was almost hard to believe what had happened. It all seemed like an absurd dream, something only my overactive imagination could concoct. Silently, I reflected back on the months since Edward had been returned from the dead. It had been difficult at first, and slow, as if a huge rift had been torn between us. I knew he had been unhappy with my actions; how, in his eyes, I had so foolishly endangered my life by stopping my heart in order to retrieve him. Gradually both our hearts had healed, and despite Edward's somewhat new room and the Volturi guard's constant visits, things had returned to almost normal. At least until I began hearing a voice in my head.

I felt Edward's head settle into the slope where my shoulder met my neck and a wave of comfort and relief flooded through me. No matter how many voices I heard, or how many times I snuck out of the house, I knew Edward, my Greek God, would always love me. Nothing could separate us now. Nothing.

I'm not sure at what point I fell asleep, but the next thing I was aware of was the chirping of the few crazy birds who decided to stay in Washington through the winter. The room was still quite dark, due to the curtains, but from the light streaming through the cracks I guessed it was near midday and sunny. So much for the snow. Not that I was truly fond of the cold, wet powder, although after Edward and I pummeled Alice and Jasper in a snowball fight, I had been developing a strange new liking for the stuff.

Stirring slightly, I realized Edward's head was still resting lightly against my throat and I smiled widely. It amazed me how he was able to remain so still for so long. Gently, I pulled my head away from his and rolled onto my side to gaze into his perfect face. I couldn't imagine anything better to wake up to than this.

"Morning," my words were slightly slurred as I fought off the lingering fingers of sleep. Edward chuckled slightly. I think he was permanently amused with my humanness.

"Good Afternoon you mean," he corrected and I blinked in surprise. "You slept like a rock."

"I feel like a rock," I complained as I attempted to stretch my stiff muscles. Apparently trudging through miles of thick snow isn't as easy as it might appear. Edward let loose his heart melting laugh and I fell back beside him.

"You're beautiful when you wake up," Edward whispered, his fingers stroking the soft skin beneath my eyes down to my cheekbones. I snorted rather unattractively. Emmett always got a kick out of my incredibly imperfect laughs.

"Yeah, if your definition of beauty come out of the Hog Farmer's Almanac," I replied sarcastically. Edward chuckled again and pinched my cheeks like a chipmunk. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Nope," he shook his head and released my face. "I don't go for hog." I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" I exclaimed, provoking him on.

"Too salty," he stated and I leaned in until my face was almost touching his.

"I see," I teased. "You prefer helpless girl." His ocher eyes closed as he lowered his head to my throat and inhaled deeply.

"Mmm," he licked his lips playfully. "Freesia." I slapped his shoulder lightly, although I might as well have been hitting a forged steel wall for all the reaction I got. Rather inconveniently my stomach chose this precise moment to rumble loudly and I blushed as Edward pulled back.

"Time to feed the human," I shrugged and hopped off the bed. Edward stood up gracefully, smoothing the wrinkles from his clothes before grinning delightedly.

"You get dressed," he instructed. "I'll make you breakfast." I shook my head in amusement once he had disappeared from my sight. Edward had seemed to have found a new passion in feeding me; I can't even count how many times I had walked in on him studying a cookbook or watching Rachel Ray on television in much the same way I imagined that I read my calculus textbook. It was actually quite amusing, seeing as he couldn't stand the food himself, and it wasn't unusual to find Charlie happily taste-testing Edward's creations. I have to admit, if there was any way to my father's heart, it was through his stomach.

I selected some worn down but incredibly comfortable blue jeans, a light green, long-sleeved t-shirt, and topped it all off with a gray hoodie my mother had sent to me, bearing the emblem of Phil's most recently signed minor-league baseball team.

As I made my way down the stairs I was greeted by the delicious scent of Edward's cooking. It just didn't seem fair that Edward had managed to surpass me in the only thing I could do better than him. Especially when he didn't even eat. Not that I was complaining, his food was perfectly delicious, although what part about him wasn't?

Thick, steaming slices of French toast and a heaping pile of perfectly seasoned scrambled eggs awaited me in the kitchen and I began to devour it hungrily. There was certainly no way I was about to go hungry in Edward's presence. I silently thanked Renee for giving me her fast metabolism.

It didn't take me long to notice that we were strangely alone. Usually, watching-the-human-eat seemed to be most everyone's favorite pastime, with the exception of Carlisle and Esme. My meal times usually ended in a competition to see which vampire could hold food in their mouth for the longest amount of time, which were unsurprisingly almost always won by Emmett. Though Alice was quite often impressively close behind. However, at this moment, no one was to be seen.

"Where is everyone?" I question Edward. He grimaced.

"Taking our delightful guests for a hunt," he explained distastefully. I frowned.

"A hunt?" To my knowledge, both Jane and Ryan were human eaters. The thought made me shiver. Edward nodded and I could tell he was bothered as well.

"Carlisle refuses to let them feed on humans while they are here," he said. "Although I'm not sure how well they are going to like our method of survival." I chewed my eggs slowly, thinking deeply about our current situation. It wasn't too hard to fathom the reason the Volturi had seen it fit to send two members of their guard this time. They were dead set on my change and if words failed to work I had no doubt in my mind they were prepared to use force.

The rest of the day passed fairly uneventfully. Edward challenged me to a death match on Emmett's PlayStation, which I lost horribly and embarrassingly, of course. I have to say, I quite enjoyed having the entire house to ourselves, it was upliftingly peaceful. We avoided speaking about the events of the previous night, as if by some unspoken agreement, and I was pleased when the voice remained silent. Perhaps Carlisle was right, maybe it had been brought on by stress. Whatever the reason, I intensely hoped that there would be no more of it.

Charlie stopped by after work while Edward and I were outside, attempting to construct a snowman. Every time Edward had stacked one of his flawlessly round snowballs I somehow managed to either knock it off or horribly mutilate it. Eventually, I just gave up altogether and ended up merely gawking as Edward constructed a snowman so perfect it could have been a prop for an expensive movie. Charlie looked subtly impressed at Edward's supposed artistic ability, though he didn't say anything.

With our well constructed bluff as to Edward's 'death', Charlie couldn't really find a reason to blame him for what had happened to me, though he still wasn't exactly as forthcoming as he could possibly be. However, I know he enjoyed seeing me happy, which I obviously was in Edward's presence.

We invited him inside to warm up, and Edward prepared some hot chocolate, which we sipped graciously, the last of the winter chill being melted from our bones. Charlie was use enough to Edward and his family's strange habits that he didn't even seem to notice Edward's cup remained untouched. We exchanged unimportant conversation, as we usually did when Charlie was around. He discussed the goings-on of his work and news he had heard from our classmates families. Most of my fellow graduates from Forks High School were already in college, soon to be returning home for Christmas vacation.

Eventually our visit came to an end, Charlie claiming to want to get home in time for his game. I saw him to the door, assuring him I would be by to visit soon. No sooner had I heard his car crunching away on the snow when Alice burst in the front door, followed closely by Jasper.

"They are insufferable!" she exclaimed angrily and Jasper laid a calming hand on her shoulder. I didn't even have the chance to ask what happened when Jane strolled in behind them, Ryan soon to follow. Though Ryan's face was unwittingly blank, Jane's was distorted into an obvious expression of disgust.

"What a vile existence," Jane's soprano voice curdled around the words. "How can you possibly survive off such revolting and impure blood?" Edward's knuckles visibly tightened and I gripped his hand soothingly.

"We seem to manage," Jasper retorted and Jane moved in closer towards him.

"Do you?" Jane asked him teasingly and I heard Alice growl in warning. Jasper remained silent, and Jane smiled enticingly at him before moving smoothly away and turning towards Edward and I. Her gaze was so frighteningly captivating that I barely noticed Rosalie and Emmett entering the scene. Edward's grip on me tightened protectively.

"Now that we've rather inefficiently fed," Jane sounded professional, though somewhat bored. Her eyes flashed at Edward, a disconcerting mix of scarlet and honey. "Shall we get down to business?" I was about to snap back at the loathsome vampire when the voice I had desperately hoped to be rid of rang in my thoughts.

_You must not let them proceed._ Crap, this was inconvenient timing. I had a hard time concentrating as it was, let alone with a voice narrating in my head.

"The year isn't over yet," Edward's voice was cold. Jane smiled innocently.

"I know, I know," she waved her hand in the air as she pranced over towards us. Edward growled deep in his throat. "Unfortunately, Aro specifically instructed us not to return until little Bella here is a vampire and I really don't feel like subsisting on disgusting animals for an entire month." Edward pulled me behind him, keeping me out of Jane's line of sight.

_You must not let them change you!_ the voice rang persistently in my mind. _Shut up!_ I thought fiercely. I couldn't concentrate on what was happening before me with a voice constantly nagging in my brain.

"No," Edward's voice was like fire. "We're not changing her. Not now." I grimaced behind him. If the most powerful vampires in the world wanted me to be one of them, I didn't see how we could stop it. Edward was just denying the inevitable.

"Edward…" Alice's voice called out in warning and I peeked around Edward's guarding body, wondering if she had perhaps had a vision. Unfortunately, Ryan was standing uncomfortably close to her and from the irked look that was plastered to her face I presumed he was blocking her ability. She had merely been cautioning her brother not to lose his cool. I desperately hoped he wouldn't, my memory of Jane's horrible power hadn't faded in the least.

"Now Edward," Jane continued, ignoring his vehement words. "You can make this easy or hard. You could simply bite her now, making it simple and quick. No need for too much drama if we can just as easily avoid it." Although I couldn't see his face, I could perfectly imagine Edward's look, his death glare that would easily stop a normal human's heart in fright. His hand tightened firmly on my wrist, keeping me stationed behind him.

"Oh, so you want to hear the next option," Jane continued menacingly, stepping to the side slightly to get a better look at me. Edward crouched into a stance I had only seen him use when I had been threatened in the meadow by James. I had no doubt that he had already read Jane's thoughts as to what she planned to do, and that she was merely speaking them out loud for everyone else's benefit. "Well, I could unleash my power on you and your family, I know how much you enjoyed it last time, and I suppose I could change Bella myself." Cold fear washed through me, if evil had a face, this would certainly be it.

"Although," Jane added, as if on an afterthought. "After such an unsatisfactory meal, I might not be able to adequately control myself. And I must say, her blood does smell particularly appetizing." She ran a red tongue across her lips and I knew she meant to provoke Edward, to make him angry and irrational. As Edward replied in a stone-like voice, the visitor in my head began to speak again.

_You must leave!_ the voice instructed and I grumbled in frustration. Had she not heard the conversation? _I can't_, I though angrily. _I wouldn't make it five steps!_

_You must not stay here,_ the voice repeated and I figured whoever it was was either slow in the head or deaf. _No!_ I thought again, feeling slightly awkward having a conversation in my head. _I won't leave Edward._ The voice growled in frustration.

"We won't let you do this Jane," Rosalie shouted harshly and Jane's small head whipped around to face her.

"I'd like to see you stop me," Jane's voice was low and dark. The words had barely left her lips when Rosalie suddenly collapsed to the floor, her limber body tense and twitching in pain. My heart pounded in my chest. Emmett immediately crouched at his beloved's side, his hands caressing her comfortingly while his eyes flashed dangerously at Jane.

"You let her go!" his voice boomed. Jane turned back to smile brightly at Edward.

"What do you think Edward?" she sneered. "Have I convinced you yet?" Edward hesitated before answering.

"I will kill you Jane." I didn't doubt it. Jane raised her eyebrows in amusement. Rosalie stopped twitching and I relief swept through me as she stood back up, obviously alright, though rather disgruntled.

"I'm assuming you want to go with option three then?" Jane moved in closer to Edward and me. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. "I force you to change her."

What happened next was much too fast for me to process properly. Edward collapsed in the exact way as Rosalie had. I was faintly aware of my scream, at the same instant that Alice and Emmett sprang forward to try and reach me, but Jane was much closer and her arms were quickly wrapped around my waist, my arms trapped in her vice-like grip.

"Stop it!" I screamed, struggling fiercely against the tiny vampire. "Don't hurt him!" Jane laughed evilly, and Edward looked up at me through pain-filled eyes. Then, suddenly, she released him from her incapacitating power and Edward sprung to his feet, groaning slightly, though immediately rushing forward towards me. Jane held out one arm, something clutched tightly in her hand, and Edward froze, his eyes flickering from Jane to me. Her arm lowered slowly in front of me, as it passed in front of my face I nearly fainted at the sight of the long, and obviously sharp, knife clutched tightly in her palm. How had we not noticed it before?

The cold steel pressed lightly against my throat and I whimpered involuntarily. The blade scraped at my skin as she gently moved it down my throat, not pressing hard enough to draw blood.

At this moment the front door flung open; Carlisle and Esme entering the room, yet stopping abruptly when they made out the scene before them. Jane made no notice of having heard them enter.

"Humans are interesting creatures, are they not?" Jane whispered ponderously as the glinting blade slowly lowered down to my heart. "So resilient, yet so easily broken." Edward's growl rumbled like thunder.

"Let her go Jane," Carlisle threatened, stepping closer. Jane lifted the knife away from me slightly, as if seriously considering whether to obey him.

"No," her voice resonated in the air for a brief second before, with sickening speed, I felt the blade slide into my stomach.

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_Sorry to leave it at that...actually, I'm not sorry...I kind of like writing cliffhangers..._

_All you have to do is press the tiny review button and pop me a few words about what you thought, and perhaps, I shall feel inclined to satisfy your curiousity with a post tomorrow!_


	4. Unexpected Happenstances

_I'm so sorry I'm posting so late in the day! I meant to post earlier, but then we had to take my cat to the vet and my grandma took us tubing, and I didn't get home until the evening! Sorry to leave you all hanging so long!_

_I'm so excited for what you think of this chapter, especially after the responses from last chapter. Oh, and this is no longer in Bella's POV. _

_Enjoy!_

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**Edward's POV**

Time had stopped. It seemed forever as I watched the knife plunge into Bella's stomach, her eyes widening in shock and pain as Jane gave the blade a violent twist, a quiet moan escaping my love's lips as the vile creature that held her released her hold.

Then in an instant, everything seemed to speed up, as if making up for the time it had lost. I was brutally aware of myself rushing forward, taking Bella in my arms before she could make contact with the ground. I rested her head delicately in my lap, her pale fingers reaching to grip my arms tightly.

I looked up urgently for Carlisle, only to find he was already next to me, his eyes gravely assessing Bella's condition. As he spotted the blood slowly soaking into her baseball sweatshirt his head whipped around quickly to the others in the room.

"Everyone out!" Carlisle's voice was commanding and left no room for arguing. It was then that I was actually hit with the smell of blood.

Human blood.

Bella's blood.

The smell was so enticing, so delicious, it made my mouth fill with venom involuntarily. My eyes flickered towards Jasper, his jaw was clenched tightly against the smell and he obediently followed Alice mechanically from the room. I was silently thankful that he had developed more control than the last time Bella was injured in a room with him.

Fighting my own instincts back, I amazed myself at how much easier her blood was to resist than I had expected. Perhaps my resistance had been building up without my conscious effort. Carlisle showed no sign of the blood having any affect on him whatsoever; this couldn't have been too far off from patients he had seen his many years working in hospitals.

Another moan escaped Bella as she clutched me tighter, her body tensing as she attempted to push herself up. I wrapped my hands around her thin wrists and eased her back down.

"Stay still Bella," I tried to sound as calm as possible.

"Edward," she breathed my name and I caressed her face softly. Nothing could quench her breathtaking beauty.

"I'm here Bella," I assured her as her chocolate eyes gazed up into mine. "You're going to be ok." I desperately hoped my words were true. I knew I couldn't survive if anything happened to her. For once I was thankful that I was incapable of shedding tears, for they surely would have betrayed my fear.

"Carlisle?" I questioned, tearing my eyes away from Bella to gaze into my father's hard face. His eyes never left Bella's wound.

"I need scissors," he instructed with sudden haste. "I have to cut her shirt away from the wound." His eyes shot up to Jane and Ryan, as if commanding them silently.

"I'll get them," Alice's voice came from behind me and I nearly jumped. I hadn't realized she had come back inside the house. Brief seconds later she returned with the scissors for Carlisle, surrendering them then kneeling down beside me, taking one of Bella's hands in her own tightly. I continued caressing my love's beautiful face, whispering soft words of comfort as Carlisle carefully exposed the wound.

If my heart had been beating I'm sure it would have stopped when my eyes lowered to her stomach. The wound was jagged from when Jane twisted the knife, the rough edges of pale skin contrasted sharply with the sweet smelling blood that was oozing thickly onto her stomach, where it pooled until rolling down her sides to the floor. Carlisle expertly drew her skin together around the knife, applying slight pressure to try and cease the excess bleeding. Bella squirmed under Carlisle's gentle actions as Alice and I held her firmly still.

"Try not to move," I gently urged, tightening my fingers around hers. "Squeeze me if it hurts." As if commanded, Bella followed my suggestion and clutched my hand in a grip that would most likely been painful to a normal human.

"Can we remove the knife?" I heard Alice question Carlisle quietly. I didn't have to look up to know that my father was shaking his head. I had been through school enough times to know the dangers of stomach wounds.

"It's gone in too deep," he replied gravely, confirming my fears. "If it's severed any arteries she could bleed death to less than a minute."

My heart sunk in my chest and I lowered my head until it touched the one I loved more than anything else on this earth. How had this happened? I should have stayed in Alaska ten, even five, years until Bella had graduated and moved on to the life she deserved. But I hadn't, I had come back, and all I had managed to do was ruin her wondrous life, one time after another.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered in my love's ear, my fingers tracing across her sweaty brow. "This is all my fault." To my great surprise Bella actually laughed, a quiet chuckle that would have been lost on most human's ears.

"You give yourself too much credit," her voice was soft between clenched teeth.

"Edward," Carlisle's voice was urgent and I snapped my head up to gaze into his anxious eyes. "You either have to change her or we have to get her to the hospital, quickly."

"The hospital," I responded automatically. The first wasn't even an option in my mind. I heard Jane tsk-ing behind me.

"I'm disappointed in you Edward," her voice sickened me and it took all my willpower to not jump up and rip her to shreds right there. Alice laid a tiny hand on my arm.

"She won't make it if we go to the hospital," Alice informed me, gravely offering her vision to my mind. My jaw clenched until I was sure my teeth would crack at the image of Bella's delicate body lying unearthly still on a hospital bed, her lips an unhealthy shade of blue and the heart monitor beside her flat lining.

"Bella…" I wasn't sure whether her name had been spoken in the vision or from my own mouth.

"Poor Edward," Jane's hateful voice burned in my ears. "I guess you only have one option left." I fought back the growl that was building in my throat and concentrated all my attention on Bella. She lifted one hand to my face, her fingers lightly stroking down my cheek

"Please," her strained voice whispered. "It's what I want." I swallowed thickly. What she wanted. Did she truly know what she wanted? To live with the maddening desire to take life, to drink the essence of someone's soul until their heart stills with death?

"Edward," Carlisle's voice rang urgently in my ears. No matter how fiercely I hated this damned existence for my love, I couldn't let her die in my arms.

"Do it Edward," I don't think I'd ever heard Alice sound so serious. My eyes fell down to Bella's beautifully round face, her eyes pleading up at me.

"Save me," she whispered almost soundlessly. I closed my eyes, willing my mind blank for what I was about to do. As I pushed back the hood of her sweatshirt, exposing her smooth neck, I steeled myself, concentrating solely on resisting the instincts I knew would try to overcome me with the taste of her blood. Leaning down to her until my mouth was mere inches from her bare skin I whispered a quiet apology for the blinding pain I knew was too come. Her fingers tightened around mine in forgiveness and I sunk my teeth into her neck.

At the first taste of her blood on my tongue the monster in me awoke, screaming for more, begging me to suck her body dry of this delectable drug. As I forced this desire from my body another sensation arose in me. One I had never experienced before. It felt strangely as if our roles had been reversed, as if Bella was draining my body. My head grew light and my entire body began to tingle, as if I was being stabbed in every conceivable spot with thousands of tiny needles. Tearing myself away from Bella's bleeding body I stood up quickly, stumbling backwards.

The tingling intensified tenfold, until it was nearly unbearable. A loud ringing sounded in my ears and everything blurred, edges fading into each other and colors mixing together disconcertingly. The blood in my mouth began to taste metallic and my limbs suddenly felt heavy, as if they had turned to lead.

A crippling pain shot through my chest and I fell to the ground, clutching my chest tightly. Faintly I heard someone shouting my name as another stabbing pain erupted inside me. I curled into a tight ball, trying to keep myself in one piece, for I felt sure that my chest was ripping apart. The ringing in my ears grew louder and I could barely feel the cold fingers touching my face and arms.

With one last ripping pain that caused me to involuntarily shout in anguish the pain suddenly ceased and I was overwhelmed with a new sensation. My chest throbbed rhythmically and my head felt like it was being held beneath a waterfall. I sat up quickly and the world swam dangerously before my eyes. Alice was kneeling beside me, her eyes wide with concern and surprise.

"Edward…" she breathed, her hand reaching to touch my face. Her fingers were surprisingly cold on my skin. "Your eyes…" Her words were cut short by a loud scream that cut sharply through the room. As my eyes fell on Bella's writhing body and Carlisle's desperate attempts to keep her still I felt the beating in my chest increase significantly and my breaths started coming short and quick, unable to be stopped.

Springing shakily to my feet, all reason fled my mind as I gazed in horror down at my body, something I could only assume to be sweat rolling down the side of my face. My mind seemed to shut off, my body reacting only to impulse as I turned and fled the house.

The winter air bit mercilessly through my thin sweater as I attempted to run towards my car. I seemed to be moving insufferably slow, like heavy weights had been fixed to the ends of my limbs. I barely even noticed the others approaching me as I fumbled with the handle of the Volvo, Esme's gentle hand stopping me as I flung the door wide open.

"Edward," her voice was quiet, cautious. My eyes flickered frantically to the faces of the four around me. Desperately I wished they were gone, that they wouldn't see me like this, however I was. "What happened?" I paused briefly, my voice catching in my throat. Then, with renewed urgency I pulled from her grip and flung myself into the seat of the car. Clumsily my hand fished in my pocket for the key, which I jammed into the ignition, revving the engine and speeding away as quickly as I could.

It wasn't until the house and my family were far out of sight that I collected myself slightly. What had happened to me? The dull thudding in my chest hadn't faded, instead it had actually increased, beating a frantic rhythm, and I realized with dawning horror that it was coming from the exact same spot my heart should sit. I couldn't even begin to fathom what this meant.

I forced myself to draw in slow deep breaths, my eyes squinting at the road before me. It was as if a veil had been placed over my eyes, I could still see but everything had become less clear, edges less well defined, distant objects blurring together too quickly for comfort.

Every reasonable sense in my mind told me I should go back to Bella; I should be there for her as she goes through this hell that is my fault. But I couldn't make myself turn around, I couldn't stop driving. If this had really happened, if for some unimaginable reason, the thumping in my chest was really what I thought it was, than I couldn't go back. To face the others, my family, Bella…I just couldn't do it.

My palms sweated on the wheel and I felt strangely lightheaded. Time seemed to blur together as I drove, the roads becoming icier and snow-packed the further I drove. I was thankful I had recently filled the gas tanks, for it would not have served me well to be stranded in my current condition.

An hour ticked by, than two and three. Every second I thought of Bella, my beautiful Bella, and the pain she must be in because of me. It nearly killed me that I couldn't be there for her; I could imagine her piercing screams, calling my name, begging me to stop the pain. Something tickled my cheeks and my fingers rose to wipe whatever it was away. They drew back wet. Hesitantly I placed them in my mouth, the taste of salt was nearly overpowering against my tongue.

The shock of my tears was overwhelming, the car swerved dangerously on the ice as my concentration faltered. This was truly frustrating, my driving skills had always been impeccable, it had seemed as natural a part of me as breathing, and now I had to focus nearly all my attention and energy to simply staying on the road. I groaned as my eyes flickered to the speedometer, I was barely topping seventy. A chuckle nearly escaped my lips at my new found anxiety for driving, this might explain Bella's apprehensiveness towards my old driving habits.

At the thought of Bella's name I became unwittingly sober again. I had left her - the words stabbed my newly beating heart like a knife – even after I had promised her I would always be there for her. I had broken my promise, would she accept me back? Could she even? For now Bella was the newborn vampire, and, no matter how impossible it seemed, I was the human. Under regular, controlled circumstances we would not be allowing her prolonged contact with humans for many weeks, even months, depending on how quickly she is able to build up a resistance to human blood. No, it would definitely be a very bad idea for me to return, though that put me at a loss for exactly what to do.

My eyes glanced down at the brightly glaring digital clock. I had been driving for nearly four hours; surely I must be near to Seattle by now. I would drive into town and check in at a hotel, there was an extra credit card tucked safely in the glove box, I had placed it there shortly after meeting Bella, just in case of an emergency, and with her, it was very prone to happen. Forcing the thought from my mind, I tried to concentrate on what I would do next. I was starting to feel faintly dizzy, my head spinning in an unfamiliar manner, and it was making it incredibly hard to concentrate.

_Think! _I told myself harshly, rubbing my eyes violently to keep them awake. After securing a room I could call Carlisle telling him where I was, explaining what had happened. He would know what to do, he had too. He could put things right again.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts I didn't noticed the car losing control on the ice in front of me. I barely registered as it swerved dangerously into the lane of oncoming traffic before spinning in a complete circle to face directly at me, the headlights blindingly bright in my eyes. Normally I would have had plenty of time to react, my lightning quick movements saving both vehicles from the doubtless collision. However, this wasn't any normal situation and my foot seemed stuck in putty as I collided head on with the car before me.

The last thing I heard was the sickening crunch of metal and the shattering of breaking glass before the world closed a curtain of black around me.

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_I just can't seem to control these cliffhangers! So sorry! Anyways, I'm dying to know what you thought! Thanks for the great turnout last chapter! I really appreciate it! See you Saturday!_


	5. What?

_Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I couldn't tear myself away from my Harry Potter book! Has anyone else read it yet? I really liked it, though it made me cry like a baby, which never happens!_

_Anyways, I'm terribly sorry about being late. Here's the next chapter!_

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**Edward's POV**

A blinding white light shown in my eyes. My head throbbed painfully and I groaned.

"Pupil dilations have returned to normal," someone was saying and the light snapped off. I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to rid myself of the floating specks of light that were impairing my vision.

"I think he's waking up," a different, higher voice sounded and I groaned again as my head gave another painful throb. Slowly my vision cleared and I was slightly surprised to find myself in a hospital room. Actually, I wasn't sure where I expected to find myself. Certainly not in this white room hooked up to tubes and beeping monitors.

"How are you feeling?" a middle aged doctor with balding grey hair addressed me. I swallowed thickly and glanced at the others in the room. There was a woman, most likely in her late thirties to early forties, with short blond hair and an agitated look awkwardly distorting her face. Next to her was a girl, no older than eighteen. Despite her long black locks, her face was strikingly similar to the older woman's and I could only assume them to be mother and daughter.

"Where am I?" my tongue felt heavy and my words were unevenly slurred. "What happened?" At my question the girl's face fell into a rather ashamed and embarrassed expression.

"You're in a hospital in Seattle. You were in an accident," the doctor's kindly voice explained. "You're quite lucky to have made it with as few injuries as you have." My brow furrowed as I struggled to understand. My brain seemed sluggish and slow. I glanced down at my body; my right wrist and fingers were plastered into an unmovable cast. I lifted my good arm to my head, my fingers connecting with rough gauze wrapped around my forehead.

"An accident?" I repeated, desperately trying to remember. Nothing was coming back to me, it was like trying to unlock a intricate box, only to find you were using the wrong key. The woman scowled at her daughter, whose cheeks turned bright red as she looked to the floor in shame. It wasn't hard to guess who had caused the accident.

"A pretty nasty one at that," the doctor, whose name tag read _Moir, M. G._, remarked as he wrote something down onto a clipboard attached to the end of my bed. "But don't worry, you'll survive. You broke your wrist and three fingers and managed to obtain a concussion, though nothing too serious. You had a substantial amount of blood loss however; we've had to give you several transfusions." His brow furrowed in what seemed confusion. "It is strange though, we couldn't find any open wounds that would explain the amount of blood loss you experienced. But what really matters is that you alive and with us now." He smiled encouragingly and I nodded slowly in understanding, though I remembered nothing of the actual accident.

"I'm so sorry!" the girl blurted out suddenly, her face turning up towards mine. "The roads were icy and I lost control…" It was obvious she was quite distressed.

"It's ok," I assured her, hoping to assuage her guilt. "Was anyone else hurt?" She wrung her hands nervously.

"My boyfriend Brent was in the car too, but he only got whip-lash," she sounded apologetic, as if I would be angry that I was the one with the worst injuries. Her eyes glanced apprehensively towards the door.

"He's in the hall with his mom," she added, as if I needed all the explanations I could get to believe her. I wished I could relay to her that I was in no way upset with her.

"I'm afraid there are some matters that do have to be cleared up," Dr. Moir said reluctantly, as if pestering me with question was the last thing he wanted to do. I lifted my head to indicate that I was ready for his inquiries. "We were unable to find any identification, either for you or any family member, so no one has been contacted as to your whereabouts. If you could give me as much information as you can, than we can be sure to see you on your way as quickly as possible."

I opened my mouth to respond, only to find that I couldn't. Nothing surfaced in my brain, no names, no faces, no information at all about myself. It was like looking into a black void. I couldn't remember the tiniest shred of any part of my life. It was all gone, stolen from me. My head throbbed again painfully at my efforts.

"I…I don't remember," I replied, frustrated. My eyes lifted to the kindly doctors frantically. "I don't remember anything." For a second I thought the dark haired girl would faint, her expression was so horrified and all the blood had drained from her face, turning her a ghostly white. The doctor narrowed his lips into a thin line, obviously deep in thought.

"From the blow to your head there is a possibility you could be suffering from traumatic amnesia," he explained in a voice that was carefully trained to deliver upsetting news.

"Amnesia?" I repeated rather like a parrot. The word sounded strange in my mouth. The idea of everything I might have experienced in my life being suddenly erased like chalk from a slate was rather disconcerting. The doctor nodded his round face gravely, the ceiling lights reflecting off his balding head.

"Most of the time this form of amnesia isn't permanent, though it is impossible to tell at this point. Can you remember anything at all?" he probed gently. I shook my head. All I knew was right now, lying in this strange hospital bed, surrounded by people I didn't know. It was more than slightly unnerving.

"Well, no registration information was found in your vehicle, but I can have someone trace your license plate number. Hopefully we can locate your family through that, though I shall start monitoring missing person reports. We will get you home, but until then I guess we'll just have to keep you here," the doctor's words were kind and comforting. I desperately searched my empty brain for something, anything. My family, where they out there somewhere, wondering where I was? Would they be worrying about me?

"Is he well enough to leave the hospital?" the girl's mother spoke for the first time. Her face was genuinely concerned and her words were caring, as if she was truly worried for me.

"Well, yes," Dr. Moir responded, sounding slightly surprised at her question. "His condition has stabilized and his vitals seem strong. However, we can't very well release him onto the streets." The woman stepped closer to my bed, gazing at me compassionately.

"My name is Ellen Sweeney, this is my daughter Cara," she introduced herself, scowling back at her daughter, who cowered in shame. I nodded to her in acknowledgment.

"I wish I could introduce myself, but…" I responded, and she smiled at my calm manner. I supposed she had been expecting me to be raving mad, or something along those lines. Even Cara seemed to relax slightly when it was obvious that I wasn't upset. There was no use at getting angry about something that couldn't be changed. Ellen Sweeney turned back to the doctor and addressed him quite seriously.

"If the young man agrees, I would be more than happy to put him up with accommodations until his family can be located," she offered kindly and Dr. Moir was silent for a moment, mulling over the situation. "Anything I can do to help make amends for causing him to be in this situation."

"I guess I don't see why that would be a problem," the doctor replied, his eyes silently questioning me to my thoughts on the situation.

"I don't want to be a burden," I said, not wanting to be disrupting this family's life.

"Nonsense," Ellen waved off my concern with a flick of her hand. The doctor nodded in consent.

"I'll just have to have you sign some papers, we'll need your address and a way to contact you," the grandfatherly looking man motioned for Ellen to follow him from the room, leaving Cara and I awkwardly alone. She bit her lip nervously, her eyes flickering to my face, but quickly averting them when she noticed I was looking at her as well.

She was quite pretty, her dark hair falling in long waves over her the soft curves of her body. Her freckled face was round, with slightly tilted blue eyes accentuating high cheekbones and plump lips. There was nothing stunning about her features, but she was beautiful in an easy-to-look-at sort of way.

"Don't feel bad Cara," I tried to assure her, and she looked at me, her eyes filled with guilt and something else. Vaguely I wondered what I looked like, if I was attractive to her at all? Perhaps that would explain her roaming eyes. She was saved from replying as someone new entered the room. He looked to be about Cara's age, tall and gangly, with short, spiked hair and a sprinkling of acne across his nose. A silver ring was hooked through the corner of one lip and his ears were in the early stages of gauging. By the way he immediately placed himself at Cara's side I assumed he was her boyfriend. However, by the way Cara tensed and pointedly avoided his eyes I also assumed that not all was well in their relationship.

"This is Brent, my boyfriend," Cara introduced stiffly, confirming both of my hypothesizes. Brent nodded at me tersely, and then gazed intently at his girlfriend.

"Why was your mom following the doctor?" he asked, raising an arm to her shoulder. I noticed that his wrists were bandaged, though unlike mine his were removable. Her eyes flickered toward me and Brent followed her gaze.

"He's coming home with us," she explained, her boyfriend visibly tensing.

"What?" he asked, obviously unnerved by her answer. She placed her hands on well curved hips authoritatively.

"He can't remember anything!" she exclaimed and I began to feel strangely like they had forgotten I was even in the room. I tried not to smirk at the look plastered to Brent's face. What did he think I was, competition? "It's the least we can do for him." I strongly disliked the way Brent curled his arm around Cara's waist possessively as Ellen entered the room, followed by Dr. Moir.

"Oh, hello Brent," from the biting tone in Ellen's voice I guessed that I wasn't the only one who disliked Cara's boyfriend. The doctor busied himself with unhooking all my tubes and wires; I was grateful when he switched off the annoying beep of the heart monitor.

"Do you think you're alright to stand?" he inquired gently and Ellen moved quickly to the bedside in case I needed assistance. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and gingerly placed them on the ground. Other than some slight soreness in seemingly every muscle in my body and the throbbing headache in my head, I felt no other inhibiting pains.

"I think so," I replied, pushing myself to my feet. I wavered slightly as my head spun to orient itself and Ellen's abnormally long fingers hovered above my shoulder, ready to support me in an instant. I was overwhelmingly grateful towards her; her complete readiness to help a stranger she barely knew.

"I'm fine," I assured her and she took a few small steps back, still eyeing me hesitantly. The doctor then addressed me, his eyes occasionally flickering towards Ellen to make sure she was taking in everything as well.

"Because of your concussion you need to be woken at least once during the night. If you cannot be easily wakened or are unnaturally confused you need to immediately come to the emergency room," he explained and I nodded in understanding. "As well as if you begin to experience any dizziness, vomiting, trouble speaking or thinking, difficulty seeing, splitting headaches, or feel overly tired. These are all signs of possible complications commonly associated with concussions." I could tell Ellen was memorizing every symptom he listed. Then he held out a small, orange pill bottle which I accepted with my good arm.

"This is pain medication for your hand," he explained. "They may make you drowsy, but you should only need them for the first day or two. We shall contact you as soon as we get the information back on your car or receive any news concerning your family. Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head, really too amazed at all that had passed to think of anything to say. Ellen had a few more things to ask however, but I wasn't paying any attention to what they were saying. My mind was consumed with blank thoughts and empty memories. My eyes flickered towards Cara and her boyfriend, they seemed to have slightly made up and he was whispering something in her ear that was making her giggle. I wondered if I had a girlfriend, somewhere. Would she be thinking about me now?

Eventually the talking finished and after I had changed back into my rather dirty clothes I followed the Sweeneys from the hospital. The sun was shining brightly outside, though for some reason I couldn't quite explain, I was extremely hesitant to step from the shade cast by the building. I stopped, the ends of my shoes barely extending into the sunshine. The two before me stopped and stared back at me curiously.

"You coming?" Ellen asked, probably silently hoping I wasn't a psychopath they were taking home. Fighting back my unexplained fear of the sunlight, I took one unsure step out of the shadow, followed by another, until I was completely immersed in sunlight. Although the winter air was cold, the streaming rays of sun felt like heaven on my face. I realized that I was holding everyone up and hurried to follow them down the icy rows of cars.

As we walked I realized that I could name nearly every single vehicle we passed, as well as give intimate details about the make and engines. I supposed that I must be quite passionate about cars. It was strange to think about myself this way, wondering what my likes and dislikes were, not knowing what I found beautiful, or what I couldn't stand. Things that should come naturally I was at a loss too.

Eventually we came to a stop at a dark green Subaru Outback. Brent had left with his own mother, though he had promised to be by as soon as his parents would allow. Cara kindly offered me the front seat, and I was grateful to get out of the chilly wind. I had only been wearing a thin sweater when they had taken me to the hospital; I briefly wondered why I had been out in such weather with such inadequate clothing.

As we pulled from the hospital parking lot I could help but feel an odd mix of remorse and longing. Almost as if I was missing something important, that I was needed somewhere. Only, I couldn't remember what it was.

I couldn't remember who I was.

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_Please review! I don't know whether it was because of Harry Potter coming out or what, but there was significantly less reviews for the last chapter. If you don't like it, let me know, so I can make it better! See you Tuesday!_


	6. Burning

_Ok, this is the third time I've tried posting this. For some reason it isn't sending out any email alerts. is kinda screwy sometimes. I meant to have it on time though! I'm sorry, it's not my fault!_

_I don't have many notes, only that I'm not sure I really like the direction that this story is taking. It just seems kind of messy to me. So I wanted to welcome any suggestions that you might have on what you want to see happen, not happen, or anything like that. _

_That's about it. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!_

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**Bella's POV**

The house was burning down.

I must have been sleeping when it had caught on fire. There was no other explanation for the pain I felt as flames licked my body through the bed. But how could this have happened? No one who lived in this house besides me was clumsy enough to knock over a candle or drop a match. And why was Edward letting me die this way? Why wasn't he here to save me?

"Edward!" I screamed in panic. Had the fire gotten him first? Could vampires be burned? I couldn't think clearly through the blinding pain.

"Bella," I heard a voice say and I felt momentary relief flood through me. Carlisle was here, he would save me, he would get Edward.

"Help…Fire…" was all I managed to grunt out. The flames seemed to be coming from inside me, burning my tongue and lips as I spoke. Why wasn't I dead yet?

"I know it hurts Bella," Carlisle attempted to comfort me. What was he saying? Why was he leaving me here, just talking to me? Shouldn't he be rescuing me from the fire? I cried out as the intense heat burned through my veins, melting me into a soup of pain.

"Edward…" I moaned, convinced he could make this all go away. Gathering as much will as I could, I forced my eyes open, though they watered with pain, and nearly closed them in surprise. I was in Edward's room, which wasn't unusual, but I was shocked to find no flames dancing up the walls or pirouetting from the ground in hungry spires. It only took a few moments for the realization to sink in on me.

Edward had bitten me. I clearly remembered now; Jane's evil taunting, the cold blade sliding into my stomach. I could feel my life draining from my body in a pool and blood and I had begged Edward to change me, despite the voice in my head vehemently opposing. I remembered my sharp intake of breath as Edward's teeth bit into my throat, and how he had suddenly thrown himself from my body, I presumed to protect me from himself.

The pain had come quickly then, the venom spreading through my veins like liquid ice. Alice had pulled away from me, her voice calling Edward's name. Carlisle had comforted me and despite my pain I could hear an undertone to his voice, a thread of confusion. Then the pain intensified like lightning and I had screamed out for Edward; the last thing I heard before losing consciousness was Alice's quiet exclamation and the slamming of the front door.

"You're doing good Bella," I heard Esme console me gently, her thin fingers stroking wonderful paths of ice across my forehead. For the first time I noticed the other's in the room. Carlisle and Esme were pressed close to the bed, Alice and Rosalie standing a few feet behind them, their eyes filled with concern and their faces lined in distress.

None of this mattered to me. There was only one person I wanted at that moment, and he wasn't here. My back arched as the fire licked around my spin, tendrils of pain wrapping around my sides. I tried to stop the scream that threatened to follow; my best efforts resulted in loud whimpering.

Mentally I had prepared myself for this, I had told myself over and over that Edward was what I wanted most in life, that I could make it through three days of the worst pain I could imagine in order to be with him forever. There was no doubt in my mind that I had been wrong. Nothing could be worth this agony, this fire that was eating my body alive. Every breath drug in air that scalded my throat and blazed in my lungs. My blood had turned to molten lava, torturing me with ever beat of my struggling heart.

"Edward?" I panted and it felt like I was vomiting fire. "Where's Edward?"

A shockwave of screaming pain rolled through my body and I writhed on the bed, willing the pain to be gone from my body. I was in no such luck and the burning increased, making me scream, before slightly subsiding.

"Try not to move so much," Carlisle's voice was kind, yet commanding. "The knife is still in your stomach." Though every move caused me pain, I pulled my head from the pillow to gaze down at my body, my eyes rolling back in my head when I saw the dark hilt protruding from my bare skin. I collapsed limply on the bed, the pain growing to such an excruciating level that my mind failed to keep consciousness.

In my fevered delusions I saw Edward, his back turned on me, walking farther and farther into the distance. I called out to him frantically, begging him to stay, to not abandon me when I needed him most. He kept walking, deaf to my pleas, and I ran desperately behind him, though as fast as I moved, he never seemed to get any closer.

I assured him that I was changing; I was going to be like him. There was no need to push me away anymore. We could finally be together. At those words he stopped, and I stopped. There was something odd about him, something different to the way he was standing, the tenseness to his shoulders. Even his coppery hair seemed the wrong shade. When he turned and I saw his face, or the pale skin where his face used to be, I screamed.

Alice's voice whispered gently in my ear and though I couldn't process what she was saying, they were comforting. The fire ripped through me and I tightened my hand on the block of ice that it was wrapped around. It wasn't until the ice squeezed back that I realized it was Alice's hand. I moaned and I felt a different, slightly larger, icy hand stroke my burning face. My eyes snapped open, desperately hoping for it to be whom I hoped, only to disappointedly staring into Rosalie's stunning face.

"Where is he?" I could barely grunt the words out for the pain. "Edward!" Rosalie's face looked stricken, and Alice's eyes fell with uncertainty.

"He's not here," she replied softly, her hand squeezing mine again, as if trying to share my pain. I shut my eyes tightly, tears escaping my eyes that for once weren't caused by the pain. Edward wasn't here? After everything he had said to me, all his promises and assurances, he was gone when I was giving up my life for him. I was dying, dying to be reborn as a new being, an immortal, forced to abandon the life I had once known, and I was alone. The one I was sacrificing everything for was simply…gone?

"We're here for you Bella," Rosalie's voice was unfamiliarly caring. I tried to reply, but my words came out as a loud moaning. "We won't leave you."

As the day passed, I was painfully aware of every devastating second, every burning minute. The fire raged in my body, waxing and waning, though the pain never ended. Carlisle and Esme came and went, but Alice and Rosalie never left my side, whispering encouraging words in my ears, cooling my flaming skin with their icy fingers.

I wished I were dead. Every time the pain flared inside me as the venom worked its way through my system, I screamed, begging them to end it, to have mercy on my suffering soul. How could they be so cruel, to keep me alive like this? To endure three days of endless burning, the flame never giving me relief for a moment.

On the third day Carlisle removed the knife from my stomach. From what my mind would process of Carlisle's careful explanation, he had to wait until the majority of my blood had been replaced with venom before they could extract the knife, for fear that I might bleed to death. Apparently, the change could only be completed as long as my heart continued to beat.

Carlisle had barely left the room to dispose of the knife when the pain increased to an intensity that I wouldn't have imagined possible. I screamed until I thought my vocal cords would erupt, my heart beating so fast I was sure it would explode. Then, as abruptly as it had started, the pain stopped.

The burning was gone, replaced with the heavenly cool breeze blowing through the open windows. I lay completely still, relishing so completely in the ecstasy of the cold air that it took me a while to realize I was no longer breathing. In fact, my body was so still that I actually felt dead. No heart thumped in my chest, the movement of blood through my head inexistent.

"Bella?" Alice's voice rang through my head, clearer than crystal. I blinked my eyes open, than immediately had to shut them. Everything was so rich, so vibrant, that I wasn't sure I could handle it all at once.

"How are you feeling?" Rosalie's voice came next, so incredibly smooth and beautiful that if it were possible, I might cry. Tentatively I peeled my eyes open again, and my breath was taken away, or at least it would if I was still breathing. Everything was so much more vivid, as if there were amazing layers of colors and textures that had been invisible to my human eyes.

_Amazing isn't it?_ A voice in my head sounded and I groaned. I had barely been a vampire for two minutes and I was hearing _her _again. That ruled out my hopes of it being caused by human stress.

"Are you ok?" Alice sounded worried. I pushed myself into a sitting position, my movements as fluid as water.

"Yeah," I replied, reluctant to admit to a voice talking to me. "I'm fine." Carlisle entered then, followed by Esme, both of their faced breaking into wide smiles when they saw me awake and pain free.

"Bella!" Esme exclaimed, rushing my side. "It's all over now." Her voice was softer than I remembered, like warm linen just from the dryer. Carlisle's eyes, a richer and more vibrant topaz than I had ever seen, were quickly examining my outward appearance, as if checking to make sure everything had gone correctly.

Rosalie was placing something in my hands, looking down in surprise I noticed it was one of her plainer blue t-shirts. It was then I noticed that my shirt had been ripped just below my chest, exposing my stomach and where the knife had previously been. On closer examination I was pleased to see only a thin scar remained, barely visible against the new whiteness of my skin, though it wasn't quite the unearthly pale as the vampire's around me.

I thanked Rosalie gratefully, though slightly unsure of her new kindness towards me. Even after she had been so warm to me after Edward had been returned from the dead, there was still always a rift between us, an unspoken break in our relationship. Perhaps the sacrifice of my human life was enough to begin to solve our differences.

My thoughts led me to another stark realization. Edward was gone. It hadn't been a delusion from my pain-addled mind. He truly wasn't here.

"Where's Edward?" I asked and watched as everyone's face fell. For a short while no one answered, as if afraid to be the first to speak. I knew this couldn't mean anything good.

"We're not sure," Carlisle took the responsibility upon himself to answer. My unnaturally still heart sunk. He had left without saying where he was going. Why? Did he truly not want me to be a vampire so fervidly that he couldn't stand to be around while I was changing? Whatever the reason, I was deeply hurt.

"He just left?" I exclaimed, hoping this was some sick joke. Alice approached me cautiously, sitting on the bed beside me.

"Bella, there was something…not right…" Alice's voice was hesitant, as if unsure of what she wanted to say. "After he bit you."

_Ask her,_ the voice commanded me, though I didn't need any egging on.

"Not right?" I questioned, puzzled. What could be wrong with Edward? Immediately my thoughts turned to the last time Edward had been acting strangely and I began to panic. "The virus?" Alice shook her head, though I wasn't completely soothed.

"No," she tried to assure me. The other three looked just as baffled as she did. "It was nothing I'd ever seen. After he pulled away from you he fell to the ground and cried out in pain, clutching his chest." Alice folded her delicate hands over her own chest. "Then, I don't quite know how to explain it, but it was like I could hear his heart beating. I know it's impossible…" She trailed off, as if afraid I would laugh at her if she continued.

"Go on," I urged her, knowing in my human state I would have been shaking. Her eyes glanced towards Carlisle's and he nodded encouragingly.

"When he looked up at me…" she elaborated "his eyes were green. He was shaking so violently…shaking and sweating. Then he heard your scream, and he just ran…"

I gaped at her dumbly, slightly disappointed that my conversion to vampirism hadn't increased my brainpower. This was all quite difficult to process.

"His eyes were green?" I asked, hoping I wasn't going to spend the rest of the conversation repeating everything she said in question form. "Are you sure?"

"I saw it too," Rosalie backed her sister up. "We all did. Everyone except Carlisle, Alice, and you were outside. It was odd, the way he ran from the house, all slow and jerky. I remember he had trouble opening the car door, and when we tried to stop him, he turned to us…his eyes _were_ green and I thought…I thought I could smell blood…" All eyes were on me apprehensively, as if unsure of how I was going to react.

_I was afraid this would happen,_ the voice in my head chimed sadly. I jerked at the voice and Esme reached for me slowly, as if she wasn't sure whether I would appreciate the comfort or not.

_Don't let her touch you! _the voice shouted urgently and quicker than lightening I found myself on the other side of the room. Had I really moved that fast? It had more been a thought of moving rather than me consciously working any muscles.

"Bella…" Esme sounded apprehensive and confused. I shook my head, feeling about as confused as she looked.

"Don't…" I wasn't sure what to say. "You shouldn't touch me…" I was sure I sounded ridiculous. A twinge of guilt pulled at my stomach. After everything this family, my family, had done for me, all I could say was _don't touch me_? I knew I had to explain what I was hearing, I just wasn't sure how to address it. Carlisle approached me slowly, his hands held out to assure me he wasn't going to try anything against my wishes.

"Are you hearing _her_ again?" he asked quietly and I felt myself blush as the vampires before me shared a baffled look. Wait, how could I blush? I thought vampires were incapable of blushing.

_Not in the beginning,_ the voice answered my unspoken question and I frowned in annoyance. I had slightly enjoyed my thoughts being protected. _It takes a while for all your human traits to be rid of._ I ignored her and nodded towards Carlisle. He sighed and placed a hand to his forehead in thought.

"What is she saying?" he inquired and I was pleased to see that he truly believed me. In fact, there wasn't a look of doubt on anyone's face. Vaguely I wondered where Jasper and Emmett were.

"She said to not let Esme touch me," I explained and scowled in thought. "And presumably anyone else."

_Correct,_ the voice affirmed, obviously approving of me reiterating this aloud. Carlisle nodded slowly, the others remained respectfully quiet, though I knew they must be itching to ask me questions as well.

"Can you talk to her?" he asked reasonably and I nodded again. "Do you know who she is?" I found the question slightly strange, I mean, wasn't she supposed to be made up?

_I was wondering how long it would take for someone to ask that,_ the voice sounded darkly amused. _I've been slightly preoccupied_, I though viciously, sighing aloud. There was no winning here.

_I'm also surprised you haven't recognized me either._ My mind frantically took in her words. Recognized her? As in I knew who she was?

_Oh yes, we've met briefly,_ her voice was soft in my head and now that I thought about it, slightly familiar. _You even knew my name, despite my lack of introduction._ I stood as still as death as realization swarmed through me like a million tiny bees.

"Claudia…" I breathed. The room became starkly quiet and I was aware of every eye plastered to me.

"Claudia Fower?" Carlisle's voice was barely audible, almost as if he dared not speak her name.

_It would appear my name still makes an impression,_ Claudia sounded slightly amused. I found it unbelievable that Marcus's deceased lover was in my head. How in the world had this happened?

_I have not yet been able to decipher that,_ she replied, slightly perplexed. I figured she had been pondering that question for some time.

"How is that possible?" Carlisle's voice cut through my internal conversation. I was snapped sharply back to reality.

"I don't care!" I shouted, suddenly quite angry at being drug so far off topic. "How does this relate to Edward?" Alice shifted nervously behind Carlisle; Esme placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

_Bella, I'm afraid that there were complications when he bit you,_ Claudia's voice had become gravely serious. I knew if I received anymore vague and unhelpful answers like this I would surely go mad.

"What have I done to Edward?" I screamed to the voice in my head, no longer caring how crazy I looked. If anything had happened to him because of me…I didn't even want to think of the possibility.

_It wasn't you Bella,_ Claudia replied smoothly, obviously trying to relieve me of some of the blame. _It was me._

"I don't care!" I shot back. All I wanted to know right now was about Edward. Whose fault it was could come later. "What's happened to him?"

_Oh don't you fear,_ she assured me. _He's alive, and very human._

_

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Ya, the summary! Though I had to cut it significantly to actually fit in the summary box thing. So it's expanded here. Anyways, review with suggestions!_


	7. Naming

_Sorry this is so late in the day! I've been out all day and rushed to update as soon as I got home! _

_Ok, I have some things to say before I let you read the next chapter! I've gotten some comments (not that I'm upset about or anything) about how this story is turning out and I want to sincerely apologize if it's not holding up to the standards of Cold as Fire. It was a wonderful idea in my head, but as I write it out, nothing seems to be turning out like I imagined it would. So I'm really sorry if it's not as good!_

_I also have some bad news. I am leaving on Saturday early in the morning to go on vacation for two weeks (not bad news for me...) I will try to update if I can, but seeing as I can't take my laptop, I highly doubt I will be able to! I won't be getting back until August 11, which leads me to my next question. Seeing as this is a pre-Eclipse story, I want to know how many people will still be interested in reading this after Eclipse comes out, because it will be slightly outdated and have to disregard everything that happens in Eclipse. So when you review, please just let me know if you plan to keep reading. If no one is interested after Eclipse comes out, than I'm not going to to continue writing. If enough people are, than I will. Thanks a bunch!_

_Sorry this note is so long. The next two chapters aren't very exciting, but they are more setting the stage for Edward's current condition and getting to know the family he's with a little better. I hope you enjoy them! _

_Oh, sorry, one last thing. I'll post another chapter tomorrow, which is also as far as I've written, before I go on vacation. So you get two in a row and then two weeks without! Really sorry!!!!_

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**Edward's POV**

Seattle passed by the window in a blur of white snow and brown trees. The sky began to darken with the coming night and for some unexplainable reason I was sad to see the sun go. The car remained silent for the better part of the drive, Ellen occasionally apologize for the state the house was and exclaiming as to how abnormally snowy the winter had proven to be so early on. I wasn't quite sure as to what to reply, so I content her with short, polite answers.

This situation was uncomfortably awkward, though certainly preferable to being bedridden in a hospital. My fingers gave a painful twinge and I tried to shift them inside my rather bulky cast, which unfortunately only caused them to hurt even more. I certainly was grateful of her kindness, yet I was just as anxious to find my own family.

After about forty-five minutes of driving we entered a rather pleasant neighborhood, kids were out playing despite the nearing darkness, throwing snowballs at each other and ignoring parent's insistent demands to come in before they catch a cold. Ellen crunched into a snow-covered driveway bordering one of the only houses lacking a snowman and an abundance of sleds, shovels, and other various winter-themed items.

Two naked brown trees were placed on either side of the front of the small, off-white house. As we pulled into the garage I could infer that there was no 'man of the house' per se, for there was no room for another car and the small building was starkly bare besides a shovel, a rake, and a few bikes. I followed the two females along a short path bordering the rather small back yard through the back door, which I noted was unlocked.

We stepped into a rather cozy kitchen, painted in warm tones of reds and yellows. Though I couldn't remember anything from my previous life, I was fairly certain I had never seen so many cupboards in my life. They lined the wall above the counter and the opposite one above a slight recess which the fridge and stove were placed, varying in all sizes. Some seemed large enough that I could sit comfortably inside while others were so miniscule it was a wonder that anything could be fit into them at all.

No sooner had I taken this all in when a loud noise erupted through the kitchen and I felt something hard knock forcefully in my body, nearly sending sprawling to the floor. I looked down in surprise to find myself being wetly molested by a large and rather floppy looking golden dog.

"Off Mozart," Cara commanded and the dog obediently stopped licking me, though not moving from my side. Cara smiled at me reassuringly. "Don't worry she's friendly." I looked down at the happily panting dog.

"She?" I asked, rather amused, reaching with my left hand to stroke behind the large golden ears. Mozart groaned in pleasure.

"Don't ask," Cara replied, rolling her eyes in her mother's direction, who had busied herself with extracting and cautiously stapling the papers that the doctor had given her. Once she had safely stacked them in a folder in one of the numerous cupboards she turned back towards us, smiling.

"You must be starving!" she exclaimed in a very motherly way. "Cara, why don't you show him up to Ray's room, he can stay there for the time being. I'll call you down when dinner's ready." Cara glanced over at me hesitantly, an unreadable expression on her face. I couldn't tell if she was comfortable with this whole situation or not. Whatever her feelings, she motioned for me to follow; I noticed her eyes lingering on my face a few extra seconds before turning to exit the kitchen. It was rather disconcerting to not know what I looked like. Did she find me attractive, or was she simply amazed at my abnormally deformed face? Mentally making a note to find a mirror I followed her through the doorway into the adjoining room, Mozart staying quite attached to my legs.

I stopped in surprise as Cara flicked on the overhead light, illuminating the unexpected room. What had originally been built as a dining room had been converted into strange mix of a music studio and an art room. A piano had been carefully placed in the corner that was the front edge of the house, a cello case occupying the bench. A hard wood chair and a black music stand overflowing with music were placed relatively close to the piano, a large, open chest stacked high with music taking up the space between them.

The other half of the room was taken up with shelves of paints, paper, brushes, and much, much more. An easel with a blank canvas was set up in the corner, a palate of dried paints set precariously on a round stool set slightly adjacent, as if the painter had left in quite a hurry. No doubt when she got the call that her daughter was in an accident, presuming it was Cara's mother who was the painter.

The walls however were what caught the majority of my attention. Nearly every inch of space was covered with painting, tacked up with no particular order, all unframed and signed in the corner _E.M. Sweeney_. Some were pleasant landscapes, depicting large fields or mountains, with small cottages or a flock of cattle grazing in the distance. Then there were still-lifes, showing everything from vases filled with flowers, to skulls and rodents. Stranger still, were the rather captivating images of fantastical scenes, all portraying some sort of creature, from beautiful images of faeries and elves, to rather brutal and gruesome illustrations of gnarled and vicious looking monsters, complete with fangs and dripping blood.

"These are all my moms," Cara's voice cut through my fascination as she motioned to the paintings on the wall. "She likes to paint."

"I can tell," I remarked, stepping forward to closer examine what looked to be half-man, half-dog sneaking up on an unsuspecting young man. I turned to glance back at Cara. "Does she do it for a living?"

"No," Cara shook her head, though by the tone of her voice, I could tell she was still quite proud of her mother's work. "Though she does sell some of her work," she shrugged nonchalantly "local art shows and stuff." I nodded in understanding.

"She's a music teacher usually," Cara explained, motioning towards the piano and cello. "She teaches at one of the middle schools and gives private lessons." I sensed a slight undertone to her voice.

"You don't play?" I questioned and Cara shook her head sending black hair rippling in all directions.

"That talent seemed to skip me," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Come, we're upstairs."

I followed her up a dark wood staircase that divided the room we were just in from the living room. At the top of the stairs was a small landing bordered by four doors. Two on were closed, but through the opens ones I could see what looked to be a small study on the left and a bathroom on the right. Cara motioned me towards the shut room to the left of the staircase, the door was slightly stuck, but swung open with a firm kick.

"This is my brother's room," she explained. I glanced around apprehensively. A neatly made twin bed was pressed into a corner, a mismatched dresser and desk placed on opposite walls. Two floor length windows were covered by heavy black curtains. The walls were adorned with an assortment of magazine cut outs ranging from classic muscle cars to rather scantily clad models. Other than that, the room was surprisingly empty.

"He's in college," Cara answered my unspoken question. "So you're free to take over his room." I must have looked slightly surprised because she hastily added: "He's not coming home for Christmas, so you don't have to worry. He's going to his girlfriend's in Minnesota. Mom's not too happy."

"And he won't mind?" I asked, still hesitant to be using someone's room. Cara smiled rather maliciously.

"Does it matter?" I could hear the mirth laced through her voice. "He's not using it." Cara crossed the room and squatted onto the bed, which squeaked mercilessly under her. For the first time since I entered the house, Mozart left my side and sprang up onto the bed beside Cara. I remained where I was, unsure of what I was supposed to do. Thankfully Cara seemed to sense my discomfort and spoke next.

"Do you want to change?" she asked me, her cheeks growing pink as she glanced up and down my body. "Ray's a bit bigger than you, but I'm sure you can fit." I glanced down at my clothes surreptitiously. They were rather filthy, smeared with dirt and blood and sporting several inconvenient rips.

Cara seemed to take my silence as confirmation and rose from the bed, opening several dresser drawers to find me something to wear. She handed me a pair of baggy plaid pajama pants, and a gray t-shirt with the words _Wisconsin Badgers_ emblazoned across the front.

"They're washed," she assured me as if I might think they were the most revolting things in the world. She bit her lip, suddenly nervous.

"At least until we can get you some clothes," she offered and I accepted them as graciously as I could. I really didn't want to be causing her any unnecessary anxiety, especially since I had gather that she had been the one driving when the accident had occurred.

I excused myself to the bathroom, and attempted to change my clothes, which I have to admit, is extremely difficult with one arm in a cast. Eventually I managed to dress myself, and straightening up, found myself captivated by the mirror.

Thankfully, my fears of deformation were quenched. I didn't think I was anything special, but I certainly wasn't ugly. A long and fortunately blemish free face stared back at me, green eyes contrasting sharply with a mess of copper hair. I looked startlingly pale and I wondered if I ever got out much. After my blissful meeting with the sun earlier today, I couldn't imagine ever not wanting to go outside.

A large gash sliced through my forehead, though it had been neatly stitched up. Other than that and the inconvenient cast weighing down my arm I was remarkably unscathed. Either the accident hadn't been as bad as I had made it out to be, or everyone was remarkably lucky.

The room was empty as I reentered it, except for Mozart who whimpered excitedly from the bed as I sat next to her. So absorbed was I in my thoughts as I absently scratched the dog's golden head that I didn't notice Cara had entered the room until she sat herself squeakily onto the bed beside me, enough distance between us so as not to insinuate anything. Her hands were clasped together so tightly her knuckles turned as white as the snow outside.

"I…" she started and faltered. I knew what she was trying to do.

"There's no need to apologize," I told her, though she remained staring guiltily at the ground.

"Well, I'm sorry anyways," she continued looking into my face sincerely. "You wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me." I tried to shrug it off lightly.

"It's not so bad," I smiled at her and she laughed nervously. She was quite pretty when she smiled, I noticed. "Anyways, what's happened has happened and there's no sense in dwelling on it." Surprise plastered itself to Cara's face.

"You…You're not upset with me then?" she inquired and I shook my head sincerely. She unclasped her hands and patted Mozart on the head, who nuzzled in closer to her. I was sure if that dog had been a cat, she would be purring like a motor.

"So," she asked, a little more confident now that she was sure I wasn't about to start yelling at her "you can't remember anything at all?"

"Nothing," I replied, searching my head for what seemed like the millionth time for any scrap of information. It was like during the crash my head had connected with a black hole, sucking everything it once contained into the black void of space.

"How about how old you are?" she asked curiously. I'm sure it must be interesting to have a conversation with someone who had no clue who they were. I shook my head. She pursed her lips in thought.

"Well, you are definitely younger than Ray, and he's twenty," she stated, examining my face intently. "I would place you as a junior or a senior, which would make you about seventeen or eighteen." I nodded my head slowly. I certainly didn't feel much older than that.

"Very probable," I replied and she smiled in delight. Now I took in her softly rounded features. "And I would guess you to be the same?"

"Seventeen," she replied honestly. "A junior." Then she paused thoughtfully.

"What about a name?" I nearly laughed.

"What do you think I look like?" I asked her back, and she drew slightly away from me, as if trying to view me in full, like a complex oil painting.

"Hmmm…" she put a thumb on her chin, mocking someone in deep thought. I couldn't help smiling in amusement. "Well, it depends on what you like. We could go for something exotic, like Joaquin or Alejandro…no? How about something plainer, like Bob? Jacob?"

I found myself tense at that name inexplicably.

"Not Jacob," I replied fiercely. Cara looked rather amused.

"Ok, not Jacob," she agreed. "How about…Michael?" I found myself tensing again. Had these been people I knew from before? Cara seemed to sense my dislike and chuckled softly.

"No Michael," she muttered, pretending to cross names of a list in her palm. "This is tough…"

"Never named a person before I take it?" I joked and she shook her head seriously.

"How about Aaron?" she suggested. "I like Aaron."

"Good enough for me," I consented and she smiled proudly.

"Well, I'm sure whatever your name is, it's better than being named after a barber who kills people." I stared at her in half shock and confusion and she laughed at my expression.

"Haven't you ever heard the opera _Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street?_" I shook my head, though whether I had before or not was unknown to me. She sighed.

"It's about some barber and his mistress who kill people and sell them as pies. Not a fun name to have." I was about to reply when suddenly I was overcome by a strange sensation. I clasped my stomach tightly as it seemed to vibrate, emitting a rather loud, and embarrassing, noise. Cara barely took any notice of it, looking to the door as if expecting someone to appear there.

"I'm hungry too," she said offhandedly. "Should we go see whether my mom has dinner cooked yet?" My stomach gave another growl and I looked down at it in confusion. This time she seemed to notice my perplexity.

"You're hungry," she explained, looking at me strangely. "Don't you remember eating food?" I ran my good hand through my hair in slight bewilderment. If this was simply hunger, why would I be so startled at its appearance. Could I really have forgotten everything? If that were so, how could I have known so much about the cars in the parking lot, or even how to speak? Something didn't quite add up.

"Don't worry," Cara tried to quell my obvious stress and smiled delightedly. "You'll like food."

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_It was really hard to come up with another name for Edward. Nothing seemed to fit him as well as Edward does. You wouldn't believe how many times I've changed it!!!!!! _

_I hope you found this at least somewhat amusing. Review and let me know! Also, please respond to my question about whether you'll be interested in reading this after Eclipse comes out! One more chapter before vacation!!!_

_Oh, (crap I have way to many notes in this chapter!) I'm really sorry about the alert thing for the last chapter. It wasn't sending an alert so I tried to upload it a couple times and then all of a sudden it sent all of them! So I'm sorry there were so many alerts for the last chapter! I'll try not to do it again._

_Ok, I'm officially shutting up now!_


	8. Melodies and Memories

_Ok, so this chapter is very much like the last one, sorry about the lack of action! I actually really liked writing it, even though it's not the most exciting thing in the world. Edward's side of the story is slightly behind Bella's, and I have to catch them up soon._

_I have also recieved plently of concern over Edward/Cara's relationship. I'm not going to say what happens, but I'll assure she absolutely does not take place over Bella in any way. Edward and Bella are star-struck lovers (if you take my Romeo and Juliet allusion) and nothing could change that. However, like Bella became friends with Jacob, it is possible for them to have feelings for members of the opposite sex. I find it amusing how everyone seemed to jump to the conclusion of some form of love affair. _

_Ok, so this is my last chapter before I go on vacation! I'll try and update during the next two weeks if I can, but I can't make any promises. I have been pretty good about updating regularly so I figure a small two-week lapse won't put me on anyone's hate list:) _

_Oh, sorry how long this is, but I will continue this after Eclipse comes out. I have recieved enough confirmations that they will keep reading after that I will keep writing!! Ok, enough talk!_

_Enjoy!_

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**Edward's POV**

Cara was right; I did like food. When I put the first bite in my mouth, the flavor that exploded through my senses was more wonderful than I could have imagined it would be. Whatever I had lived on before the accident surely couldn't have had as much taste as the food before me, for there was no other explanation for my reaction. Surely I couldn't have forgotten so completely about such a basic necessity.

Whatever the reason for my fascination with the food, Cara and her mother both seemed to find my enthusiasm for her cooking quite amusing. Ellen seemed pleased that someone liked what she made, apparently Cara was never too enthused by her skills.

The only downside to the meal was my discovery that I was most definitely right-handed, which was unfortunately being smothered by a large plaster cast and I had quite a lot of difficulty managing my fork with my left hand. I could see Cara stifling a chuckle as the utensil slipped from my hand for the millionth time and clattered onto the table. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and I shot a glare at her across the table, which only caused her to giggle even more, despite her mother's threatening stares. I was grateful that some of the awkwardness at this unusual situation had begun to dissipate.

After dinner both Ellen and Cara were quite exhausted, and seeing as how Cara had school and Ellen had to work the next day, they declared that they were heading to bed. Cara graciously helped to set me up with any item I could possibly need, and Ellen assured me that I could wake her up at any hour if I needed assistance. I thanked them both quite fervently before they retired to their separate rooms.

Despite the fatigue that seemed to grip me like a vicious dog, it was a long while before I could manage to fall asleep. My head began to throb painfully again, though numbed some with thanks to my pain medication. My thoughts roamed unceasingly in my empty memories, trying to bring back anything from my life. I had an uneasy feeling in my gut that I was supposed to be somewhere, that I was missing something terribly important, but I supposed that could have been spawned from my own anxieties.

Eventually sleep came, despite my seeming inability to relax. Here was another strange mystery of why such seemingly natural behavior came so clumsily to me. It was like I didn't know how to sleep, and I woke up many times during the night. However, the times that sleep did manage to take hold of me were filled with uneasy dreams.

I saw someone, a girl, faceless but beautiful none-the-less, and somehow I knew she was in terrible pain. She was screaming, the sound tortured my soul worse than a thousand lashings, and I knew she was calling for me. No matter how I tried, I couldn't reach her, something was blocking my path.

Every time I awoke, sweating and panting, with the distinct sensation that something had been taken from me. An important part of me. I assumed it was my memories, though it was impossible for me to be completely certain. All I knew was that I desperately wanted it back.

"Good morning Aaron!" Cara's cheery voice penetrated my thoughts as I made my way into the kitchen, still dressed in ill-fitting pajamas. I smiled at her, amazed at her seeming perkiness this early in the morning. A quick glance at the clock proved it to be close to 7:30. Ellen entered the room behind me, inquiring as to my sleep.

"Fine," I lied, not feeling inclined to explain my disturbing dreams. A loud honking came from the street and Cara leapt to her feet, throwing on a coat and grabbing what looked like an incredibly heavy backpack. Indeed, she groaned as she hoisted it onto her shoulders and gave her mother a quick kiss before rushing to leave, stopping in the open door to assure me she would be home after three.

"You're letting in the cold!" Ellen called reprovingly and turned to join whoever was giving her a ride to school. I suspected Brent, her boyfriend. Ellen was shaking her head and muttering quietly about responsibility and common sense.

She assured me that I was free to roam the entire house to my pleasure and pointedly left a number where she could be contacted. I assuaged her fretting by reassuring there was nothing else I needed and, still not quite convinced, she left for work.

I spent the day searching for anything that could jog my memory. I flipped through countless channels on TV, watching every news channel in hopes of anything reported on the accident, which unfortunately was rather lacking. Then, with my fifth delectable strawberry sucker melting in my mouth, I pored through hundreds of magazines I found stacked by the couch in the living room, though to my disappointment I could not manage to recollect anything from the pictures.

Mozart nudged at my legs insistently, as if sensing my unease. I pet her absently as I scrolled through missing persons reports on the computer, looking for anything that could match my description. I was still searching, though rather frustrated at my lack of results when I heard the front door open. Mozart left my side, bombarding clumsily down the stairs.

I meant to follow, but paused at the top of the stairs when I realized Cara was not alone. Her boyfriend stood close behind, an ill-favored look distorting his features. Cara looked rather annoyed herself, and I remained silent as to not disrupt whatever they had been discussing.

"Look," Cara said pointedly "he's only here until we can find his parents. It's not like he's moving in!"

"Isn't there a home for people like that?" Brent asked accusatorily, as if it were Cara's fault I was here. She snorted in disgust, somehow the sound struck a chord in me and I heard, as if from a far distance a nearly identical sound, though this one sounded a bit more humorous. Indeed, it was followed by a muted laughter, and light words that I couldn't understand. I closed my eyes, willing more of what I was certain was a memory to come, but it was gone. My mind had returned to the infuriating chasm.

"You have serious jealousy issues," Cara's voice penetrated my thoughts and I snapped my eyes open. They had moved slightly so they were no longer in view of the staircase, but their voices were just as clear. It didn't take much imagination to know what Brent's expression must look like.

"Jealous?" his voice sounded so incredulous that I knew her words had struck home.

"Yes!" her voice had risen and I wondered if they remembered that I was even in the house at all. "You're jealous that I'll like him more than you! You don't trust me, do you?" I took Brent's sudden lack of answer as a confirmation and obviously so did Cara.

"Why don't you leave?" she sounded cold and I could imagine her in my mind, crossing her arms firmly and staring at him daringly down her nose.

"Fine! If that's what you want!" Brent shouted rather harshly and I saw him stalk before the staircase, pausing only briefly to glare up at me. I tried to look as innocent as possible, giving him a, somewhat, friendly smile, which only seemed to irk him more and he stormed off, slamming the door loudly behind him.

Cara stomped heavily up the stairs, glancing at me apologetically. I followed her into her room, leaning against the doorway so as not to impose myself upon her. After all, she had just fought with her boyfriend about me.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Cara said sincerely.

"I'm the one that should be sorry," I replied, matching her gaze. "Your boyfriend is upset because of me…"

"No," Cara cut me off. "It's not you. He's always like this, always accusing me of something ridiculous." She glanced away from me, her cheeks turning a delicate red.

"Besides," she continued, softer. "I do like you more than him." There was a slight malice in her voice, long brewed contempt. I shifted uneasily, unsure of what I was supposed to say. She smiled up at me, seeming to sense the awkward position she had placed me in.

"Don't worry," she reassured, though I wasn't sure she herself felt entirely convinced. "I don't mean anything by it. I've never really liked Brent."

"Then why go out with him?" I questioned, entering the room and sitting on the chair at her desk. She sighed and shrugged.

"It just sort of happened. His friends were all going out with my friends…" she trailed off, the rest easy enough to figure out. I nodded in understanding. She suddenly looked embarrassed and gazed at me intently.

"Have you remembered anything yet?" I shook my head, deciding not to tell her that there was someone I must know who snorts like her. She pouted sarcastically.

"Darn, I was hoping you would remember something about chemistry…" her eyebrows rose hopefully and I found myself laughing.

If there was one thing that I must've been good at, it was school. I knew the answer to every question she posed without hesitation, even looking over what she had already done and correcting her mistakes.

After chemistry we tackled French, which I was surprised to find I knew quite fluently. Then we moved on to trigonometry and finished in, according to Cara, record time on sociology. She was staring at me, a mix of astonishment and envy swirling in her eyes.

"I think I want to keep you," she exclaimed and I laughed. It was comforting how easy it felt to be around her. This whole situation could have very easily proved stiff and uncomfortable and I was thankful that it wasn't. This didn't stop me from desperately wishing for my family, or whoever, would be found quickly.

Ellen returned home shortly after, carrying two large pizzas, and claiming to be exhausted. Cara rolled her eyes and I inferred that take out anything was a regular food staple in this house. We had barely started eating when the phone rang and, despite Ellen's instance of fatigue, she jumped quickly to her feet to answer it.

"Hello…yes…uh-huh…I see, how strange…nothing at all?...yes…thank you very much…" I could not hear what was being said on the other side of the conversation, but Ellen's comments were enough to make my heart sink. My fears were confirmed when she turned around and gazed at me sadly.

"Aaron," she began and I was surprised to hear her using the name Cara gave me. Though I suppose she had to call me something. "That was the hospital. They traced your car, but they couldn't find anything. According to them, your car doesn't exist. There were no records of it at all." Ellen's eyes were on me as though she expected I had some sort of explanation for this oddity. Unfortunately, I was just as surprised as she was. Why would I be driving an unregistered vehicle? I was starting to suspect something strange about my former life.

"I assure you, this comes as a complete surprise," I remarked, hoping she wasn't beginning to suspect I was some kind of criminal. "Did they say anything else?"

"Well, they're handing the matter over to the police and social services. Your description will be listed on their missing persons list and if anyone calls in looking for you we will be contacted right away. They're going to launch a small investigation, but other than that, there's not much they can do," Ellen gaze was weighing my reaction, but she had no need of worry, I found myself strangely neutral on the subject. Sure I was disappointed that my family couldn't be found, but I wasn't uncomfortable where I was either. I knew however, that eventually if no progress could be made, I would have to leave. I couldn't impose myself of this family any longer than necessary.

After we had finished eating, I was following Cara through the art/music room towards the stairs when something caught my eye. I stopped, only taking a few steps closer to the painting tacked on the wall. It was one of the least gruesome of the monster pictures, and I couldn't say what drew me towards it; all I knew was the strange fluttering in my stomach as I gazed about the stark images.

It centered on a man, with sleek black hair and skin as pale as snow. His eyes were bloodshot, nearly matching the deep crimson color of his lips. He was smiling savagely, revealing two elongated and razor sharp canine teeth, a small girl groveling in fear at his feet. My eyes were fixed on his teeth, long and cruel; I could not tear my eyes away.

"You like vampires?" Cara's voice made me jump; I had forgotten she was with me. I looked at her strangely, unable to find my voice.

"This was one of the first ones my mother painted," she explained, reaching to straighten it a bit. "I don't like it too much. I feel bad for the girl." I nodded, understanding completely.

"He was about to damn her," I muttered, more to myself than anything. "Take away her chance for a normal life." Cara looked at me, a somewhat surprised expression on her face.

"Actually, I just felt bad that he was going to kill her," she remarked, her lips twitching into a half-hidden smile. "But that works too."

I stared at the painting a while longer, unsure of why it was affecting me, but transfixed nonetheless. Eventually a soft melody pulled my attention from the red eyed vampire to the piano a few feet away. I crossed the room as quietly as I could, so as not to disturb Ellen's playing, slightly confused at the emotions swirling through me. There was something about the gentle music, the blur of her long fingers on the keyboard that woke something in me, though I couldn't quite place what. It was nearly the same feeling as the vampire picture invoked, though on a slightly different channel.

I stood behind Ellen shoulder, watching her weave the beautiful sound for several minutes until the song softened to a finish and she turned to look around at me. She smiled at me, obviously pleased that I appreciated her playing.

"Do you play?" she asked and I frowned slightly.

"I'm not sure," I replied hesitantly. There was something alluring about the piano, like an old friend who had comforted me through many troubles. Ellen rose from the bench and motioned for me to sit.

"Why don't you try?" she encouraged and I sat nervously, unsure of where to begin. As my fingers gingerly touched the cool, white keys all my doubts were washed from my head and I began to play. It was a gentle melody, quiet and soothing, but also beautiful and quite intricately woven together. As my fingers wound up and down the keyboard I saw in my mind the same beautiful girl who had graced my dreams, faceless but filling me with an unquenchable longing.

My fingers faltered and I found myself unable to continue. Whoever this girl was, and wherever, I was sure she was waiting for me, perhaps with the same anxiety I experienced whenever I thought of her.

"That was really beautiful." Ellen's voice disrupted my thoughts and I turned to face her. She looked rather impressed, yet slightly sad. "I don't recognize it though."

"I wrote it," I replied automatically, no doubt in my mind that what I said was true. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Do you remember?" she questioned hopefully. I shook my head.

"I just know," I responded softly, as much to myself as to her. Ellen nodded in understanding.

"Well you are certainly quite talented," Ellen praised and I smiled, though a strange depression had set over me.

I played through the evening, willing myself to remember anything about the girl who kept dancing before my eyes. Though my image of her became clearer - her round brown eyes, full red lips, ivory skin – I couldn't bring myself to recall anything useful, anything that could help me to find her.

Eventually I gave up and trudged up to my room. I sat on my bed for a long while after that unsure what to think or feel. The clock had nearly reached eleven when Cara poked her head through the doorway. Respectfully, she had sensed my need to be alone and had stayed out of my way all evening. I wished I could have shown her how grateful I was to her.

"Don't worry," Cara tried to assure me. "You'll remember, I know you will."

"I hope so," I replied, not quite convinced.

"You know…" she began, but then seemed to change her mind. I glanced at her curiously, surprised at the emotions that crossed her face.

"Good night," she said instead.

"Good night Bella," I replied as she turned to leave. I was about to turn off the light when she turned back around, looking at me, a surprised smile brightening her face.

"I'm Cara," she said slowly and I frowned at her. Hadn't I called her that?

"Yes you are," I responded, hoping she would elaborate. Her smiled widened and I had the feeling I was missing something.

"You called me Bella," was all she said before turning around for good this time. "Good night!"

I blinked after her for a few moments, processing what she had said. I called her Bella.

Bella…The name rang through my head as I slowly drifted into another fitful sleep.

That night I dreamed of vampires.

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_I want lots of reviews when I get back from vacation!!!!!!! Let me know what you think!_


	9. Power Stories

_Hey everyone! I'm back! It's taken me longer to update than I had expected and I sincerely apologize. Halfway through my vacation something came up and I had to change my plans. I'm really sorry, but it couldn't be helped! Anyways, it also put a damper in the amount I had hoped to write, so I might not be able to update as often as I used to. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I finish it though!_

_Anyways, Eclipse was amazing, was it not? I won't say anything because I know some people haven't gotten the chance to read it yet, but I have to say it was not lacking in anything! I loved it! _

_So, sorry about the late update, this chapter is a bit longer than the rest so I hope that makes up for it! I hope you enjoy it anyways!_

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Jasper and Emmett had returned. Being the most susceptible to the smell of blood, and seeing as there was an abundance of it during the majority of my transformation, they had spent the past three days searching for Edward. Unfortunately it had been unusually sunny and they had been forced to restrict their searching to the nighttime. Having yielded very little results, other than a few miles of car tracks in the snow, they had decided to return once they figured my change would be complete.

Now we were all gathered in the living room, attempting to explain to the rather bewildered Emmett and Jasper that the famed vampire Claudia Fower was somehow in my head and had miraculously turned Edward into a human. I was still confused as to how everyone seemed to know who this vampire was. All I knew was that she had been Marcus's love, with much the same passion that Edward and I had, but that in itself didn't seemed to be anything so extraordinary and Claudia was being remarkably unhelpful.

"Listen," I exclaimed and the talking around me ceased, though what they had been discussing was beyond me. Though I was now officially a vampire, I was still rather good at tuning out what was happening around me, perhaps even more so. "I don't mean to be rude, but could somebody explain to me who this person in my head is? I'm a little lost."

Carlisle looked at me kindly, understanding my frustration.

"Claudia Fower was arguably the most powerful vampire of her time, perhaps ever. She was involved with Marcus, Caius, and Aro before they had even begun to form the Volturi. It was her power that gave them the idea of creating a government, if you will, over other vampires, to make sure they don't reveal our secrets," Carlisle paused, allowing me to absorb what he was saying.

"What was…is…her power?" I questioned anxiously, though I had a pretty good idea. Carlisle glanced back at the others, almost as if needing their confirmation to continue. It was then I noticed Jane and Ryan's presence; they were both seated on the floor close to the front doorway, waiting almost patiently for all this to be explained to me. I couldn't help wondering what they were up to. There was obviously some bigger plot brewing here.

"She steals other vampire's strength," Carlisle explained, his brow furrowed slightly as if trying to put jumbled thoughts into words.

"Like their powers?" I asked, struggling to understand. I could clearly see every strand of Carlisle's golden hair rippling as he shook his head.

"More like their essence, their being. You would have to ask her yourself for exact details, but it is believed that when her power had been fully developed she had the capability to extract so much strength from a vampire that she took their vampirism completely, turning them human."

_He is quite educated,_ Claudia's voice rang in my head. I didn't think I'd ever get used to having someone taking up residence in my thoughts. _I must say I am truly amazed that I am still so widely known. _

"So, because Claudia is miraculously in my head," I thought out loud, trying to piece everything together "I have her power and therefore when Edward bite me, she…or I guess I, sucked out his vampire…ness?" It sounded somewhat ridiculous this way.

_Correct!_ Claudia confirmed followed shortly by Carlisle's assurance that he believed this is what happened.

"Shit," I exclaimed and found myself blushing again. How come my stupid human qualities had to linger so long? Emmett snickered but was stopped by a sharp slap on the shoulder from Rosalie.

"This doesn't explain how she's in my head in the first place!" My eyes glanced accusingly towards Jane and Ryan. They had seemed unsurprised by the entire ordeal and I had more than a faint suspicion that the Volturi was behind this.

"Or why she hasn't absorbed all your strength," Alice remarked and I frowned towards her. "If her power is to suck the strength of vampires and she is inside your body, you would assume she would have immediately turned you human after your transformation."

"I think I know why," Jasper intervened and my head snapped towards him. The conversation seemed to being moving too fast for my distressed mind. His buttery eyes captured mine sincerely. "Bella, I can't sense you at all. If I couldn't see you, I wouldn't even know you were here. You're emotions were quite clear to me before and now it's as if there is an invisible barrier around you, shielding them from me.

"I think," he paused as if checking to make sure I was ready for him to go on. I gave an encouraging nod. "I think your power is to block other powers, like when you were human, except now you're not as limited. That would explain why what happened to Edward hasn't happened to you."

_Your family is certainly much brighter than many I have encountered,_ Claudia resonated.

_So I'm blocking you from turning me back human?_ I asked her through my thoughts.

_Indeed,_ she replied and I sighed. I was grateful to have a power, but I must admit I had been hoping for something a little more exciting.

"Hey, at least you have a power," Rosalie muttered somewhat resentfully and I immediately felt guilty.

"That is not what's important right now," Carlisle interrupted. "We need to know why Claudia is indeed inside Bella's head and how she got there. Can you ask her Bella?" There was no need for Claudia immediately answered.

_I have been pondering this for some time_. _I have examined your memories_, I felt myself blushing once again, although thankfully I could tell my cheeks burned a little less red every time, _and I believe the Volturi are indeed behind this. It is my belief that whatever Marcus gave you to drink that allowed you to enter the river of death also caused you to bring back whoever you had contact with while you were there, in this case James, Edward, and myself._

I repeated everything Claudia said, feeling rather like a parrot.

"Why?" Emmett voiced my own thoughts. "Why did they want to bring you back?"

_Is it because he loved you?_ I asked timidly in my mind, not wanting to bring that fact out loud, in the chance that Claudia did not want it known.

_I do not think so,_ Claudia replied. _You see, when I was young, I was quite power hungry, though unrightfully so. I collected as much power as I possibly could; robbing vampires right and left of what was not mine to take. Eventually I had gathered so much power that I was overwhelmed. I could not control myself and was a danger to anyone miles around me. I knew I was destroying myself and I needed an outlet, for one cannot simply rid themselves of so much power. It had to go somewhere, so I transferred it into an outside object, a small figurine of an elephant, though it nearly killed me to do so. What I did not realize at the time was that whoever possessed this statue would also possess the power that I had contained inside it. My supposition is that the Volturi are anxious to widen their reign by claiming this power for themselves._

Once I had repeated this to the six astounded looking vampires around me Jane rose to her feet and applauded, a rather malicious look on her face.

"Congratulations," she said in feigned pleasure. "You figured this out much quicker than we had imagined. And we couldn't have wished for the circumstances to be more in our favor." What she meant by this exactly, I couldn't be sure, but the way she said it made me cringe.

"So this is true?" Carlisle spoke, ignoring her last statement, much to her displeasure. "What she speaks of?"

"Quite," Jane replied. "Shall I take the liberty of notifying the Volturi of Claudia's presence?" I stiffened in fury. How dare they interfere in our lives like this!

"It would be preferable if you didn't," Carlisle replied coldly. Everything was strangely clear now, why the Volturi had been so eager for my transformation, the constant check-ups and warnings; it had all been to ensure their power plans came through.

"Oops," Jane lifted her hand to her tiny mouth in mock embarrassment. "Too late. Don't worry however, it should all be over quite quickly, if you all cooperate."

"Why would we help anyone obtain supreme control over our race?" Jasper asked her as though she were an ignorant child. Jane's eyes flashed dangerously.

"I think you will want to help us," the undertone in Ryan's soft voice was slightly threatening, which I found somewhat unusual. Though I had no liking of the Volturi guard, I had never felt particularly threatened by him before. I couldn't help wondering if he had gone to Volterra simply to fit in, because he felt he had no other options. Perhaps with the right guiding hand he could have led a life more like what the Cullen's had adapted too. I noticed Alice glared at him particularly fiercely.

"Why?" I asked with more venom than I felt. Inside I was quaking with fear. Jane glanced at Ryan's face before turning back and smiling with a syrupy sweetness that didn't meet her eyes.

"If you ever want to see a certain ex-vampire again, you will help us," Jane threatened.

"Edward…" I breathed.

"You're lying!" Emmett snapped. Jane cocked her head.

"Am I?" she challenged. I clenched my fists to keep from jumping on her. This was not how I had dreamed for my first day as a vampire to go. I had dreamed of Edward's godly presence, his dazzling ocher eyes and heavenly voice guiding me with patience and love through the changes in my body and abilities. The thought of the Volturi having him in such a weakened state was infuriating. However it would explain why he hadn't come back yet, for I could not believe he would choose to stay away from me, especially now.

"Now," Jane began in a very business-like manner, "shall we have Claudia tell us how to find said trinket? Once we have secured it and verified its authenticity we shall return your precious Edward…if you hurry he may even be in one piece."

Unbelievable pain shot through my head, as if it were being split open with an axe and for a second I thought Jane was using her power on me, though that was impossible. Then the strangest sensation of being pushed from my own mind came over me, as if I was disconnected from my body, with no control over my actions; reduced to a miniscule though, a disregarded memory.

All this happened in a tenth of a second and quicker than light leaves a snuffed-out candle I felt my hand raising, energy boiling in the palm like a small, unseen sun, fighting to be allowed to wreck havoc on anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path.

The power of this invisible ball of energy was terrifying and I fought to regain control of my arm, to put it by my side where I couldn't hurt anyone, but I was no more in control of my body than I was of Edward's.

Shock barely had time to register on Jane's face when the whole room began to vibrate as the blazing energy was released from my palm. There was a crash as the Christmas wreath that was hanging on the front door fell to the ground and I watched in disbelief as both Jane and Ryan collapsed with a loud thump.

The room grew deathly silent as everyone struggled to understand what had just occurred and I gave another desperate push back into my mind. A second hot wave of pain lashed out at me with a thousand firey tongues and I recoiled quickly.

_Relax,_ Claudia's voice rang through my entire being. _Don't struggle._ I growled at her in seething anger. How could I relax when I was no longer in control of my own body?

_What are you doing?_ I shot at her.

_Don't worry, nothing will become of you, _her voice was sedating and I found myself relaxing, drifting meaningless through my mind. _It will be easier this way._

I watched through yes no longer under my control as Rosalie cautiously approached the two unmoving forms and, kneeling down, lifted Jane's small arm and let it thunk back to the ground.

"Are they dead?" Rosalie's voice filtered through me oddly as if the sound had been used once and tossed aside.

"No," my mouth moved but the voice that came out of it was Claudia's. "They have merely been absolved of their energy. Given time they should make a full recovery.

All eyes were focused on me sharply, confusion evident on each face.

"What have you done with Bella?" Carlisle demanded of the being who commandeered my body. Esme wrung her hands apprehensively.

"Nothing," Claudia replied smoothly. "She is quite safe, but this threat posed by the Volturi needs to be acted upon with haste." The authority in Claudia's voice was so prominent that no one contested her as she paused briefly.

"Now, judging from their seeming eagerness to have me, I am assuming they have tried and failed to find my statue. It would be most beneficial to us if we were to obtain it first." Carlisle nodded his agreement.

_Edward!_ I screamed at her in frustration. I didn't care if the entire world was on the line. My first priority was finding Edward. Claudia, however, didn't seem to share my concern and ignored my desperate thoughts.

"Jasper," Claudia turned to the quiet vampire who looked up in obvious surprise at being addressed. "I believe I shall be in need of your assistance."

"What of Edward?" Alice demanded, putting her hands squarely on her hips. I breathed a sigh of relief, at least someone else remembered. I could feel my lips pursing as Claudia thought; faintly I wondered how she could seemingly read my thoughts when hers were so closed to me.

"They were lying, weren't they?" Rosalie questioned, rising from Jane's limp figure to approach her sister. "You can see him?" Alice's face creased delicately in concentration.

"Not clearly," her voice was slightly frustrated. "Bits and pieces really. I can't tell where he is, but he is definitely inside, or will be soon. Someone else is with him, whoever it is is human. He seems in no immediate danger." If it were possible, my heart would have raced with worry. None of this made any sense.

"Why isn't he coming back?" Rosalie voiced my concerns. Alice shook her head.

"It's so faint…I can't tell," she sighed, angry that her visions should fail now.

"What an instrumental talent," Claudia exclaimed, obviously quite impressed.

"Except it's unfortunately lacking in clarity," Alice grumbled, kicking the foot of the sofa angrily.

"It's enough to know Edward is safe from the Volturi," Carlisle replied, approaching my Claudia-infested body. "We have to find him. We cannot allow them that advantage, and I fear what has come to pass that he should not seek us out, especially after Bella has been changed. I will not abandon my son."

The passion and ferocity in his voice would have been enough to knock me back, if I had been in control of my legs. Internally I relaxed slightly. There was no arguing with Carlisle, not when he was this vehement. I had no doubt he would stop at nothing until he had found Edward. And I would follow.

_Not this time. _I had no time to argue with her when she began talking.

"I may not agree entirely with your priorities," Claudia said plainly and without ill-intentions, "but I respect them never-the-less. Perhaps we should divide into two separate groups, for I fear it would be unwise to remain in this house longer than necessary. This will surely be one of the first places the Volturi should think to search for me." Carlisle nodded, his vibrant gold eyes distant in deep thought.

"And how do you propose we divide?" Rosalie asked, the challenge in her voice not going undetected.

"My only request is that Jasper travels with me. His skill will be particularly useful in this endeavor. I would suggest Alice search for Edward as her vision could prove helpful in his location."

_No!_ I screamed in anger. _No, no, no! I won't go without Edward!_ A sudden weight came over me, pushing me deeper into abyss.

_We have no choice,_ Claudia resonated and I gave a frantic surge back into my body. Immediately I was cleaved in two with the familiar searing blade of white hot pain. I must have been somewhat more forceful this time for Claudia drew in a sharp breath and raised my fingers to my head. Alice looked concerned.

"Bella doesn't like this, does she?" I marveled at her perceptiveness.

"We have no choice," Carlisle answered gravely for Claudia.

It didn't take too long to separate into our different parties. Jasper and Rosalie were to come with Claudia to find this all-powerful statue or whatever it was we were looking for; I had a hard time paying attention when I was so consumed with worry for my Edward. Alice, Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett all promised to bring Edward home as quickly as possible.

I remained grudgingly quite for the entire ordeal, silently seething at Claudia for her damn authority. I vowed to not make this easy for her, since she had to cause me such anguish of worry.

Everyone agreed on leaving the still unresponsive bodies of Jane and Ryan as they were; it made me feel slightly better to imagine the bewilderment they would face once they had awoken.

Jasper and Rosalie were already waiting outside, after having embraced their own beloved spouses, and Claudia was conferring with Carlisle and Alice, though I paid little attention until I heard my name mentioned.

"…nothing will happen to Bella?" Alice's concerned voice came to my internal ears, slightly muffled, "because of this?" She motioned up and down my body.

"Bella is perfectly safe," Claudia replied and I seethed. "As long as she doesn't fight me, she should remain undamaged." I suspected that last part was as much for me as it was for the listening vampires.

"Do you plan on allowing her to surface as you search?" Carlisle asked in his always benevolent tone.

"Of course," Claudia assured. "As long as she agrees to behave." If it were possible I would have crossed my arms stubbornly. How dare she speak of me as if I were in immature child. I was liking this ancient vampire less and less.

"Might I suggest…" Carlisle waited for Claudia's accepting nod to continue, "that you keep tight control around any humans. I fear Bella's self-resistance to be somewhat lacking as she has not had adequate time to build up such resistance. I would also recommend feeding often so as to help her newly changed body recover from her transformation. And please limit yourself to animals, it would be greatly preferable if Bella were never exposed to the taste of human blood."

"Your requests are reasonable," Claudia agreed seriously. "I shall try my hardest to honor them." She had nearly exited the front door when Alice's tinkling voice stopped her.

"Tell Bella not to worry. Tell her we'll find him." Claudia smiled warmly.

"She already knows."

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_Please review! Major plot points were revealed here and I want to know what you think!_


	10. Do I know you?

_I forgot to put on the last chapter that it was from Bella's POV. I think most people figured that out though. _

_Anyways, thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Keep them coming, they might inspire me to write faster. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter up, but I will work my hardest to get it done within a week. Sorry about the longer times between posting now, I just don't have as much time as I would desire!_

_Enjoy!_

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**Edward's POV**

2…3…4…the days passed slowly. No new information had arrived on either my car or my family. Ellen and Cara Sweeney were beyond helpful in accommodating me, though I suspected Cara greatly enjoyed me doing, excuse me, _helping_ her with her homework.

Though, despite my handicapped right arm, I had become quite accustomed to regular occurances, such as eating and sunshine, my restless nights still continued. Every night I dreamed of a girl, a beautiful girl with long brown hair and smoldering chocolate eyes. Every night she was in trouble, something was chasing her, something with deathly pale skin, blood-red eyes, and two long sharp fangs. She was always shouting a name I couldn't hear, begging someone to come save her, to rescue her from this evil creature chasing her. Somehow I knew she was calling me, but no matter how fast I ran to her I never reached her in time. The creature go t her first, sinking his razor teeth into her neck, draining her blood until she collapsed to the ground like a rag doll, her eyes wide with death. Then, every night, the horrific creature turned towards me and I found myself gazing to my own face, my blood-stained lips twisting into a cruel smile.

My eyes snapped open on the fifth day, sunlight was beginning to creep through the cracks in the black window curtains. I yawned widely, willing my violently disturbing dream from my head. Today was Saturday and Cara had promised to take me to the park where I could soak up as much sunlight as I could possibly desire. The muscle car shaped alarm clock sitting beside the bed I was borrowing from Cara's absent brother betrayed the time to be a quarter passed seven. Presuming it would be several hours before Cara even stirred, took my time showering, standing under the nearly scalding water for several long minutes. Hot water I had found to be like sunlight, I was unexplainably fascinated with it.

After successfully loosening all my muscles I dressed myself in a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt, all newly purchased for me by Ellen who had refused to listen to my insistence on repaying her when I found wherever I rightfully belonged. I pulled a rather large _Wisconsin Badgers_ sweatshirt over my head and made my way down the stairs in time to wish Ellen the best of luck at her symphony concert today.

It was nearing eleven before Cara made her grand entrance, thumping heavily down the stairs and groaning loudly as she entered the kitchen, still clothed in pajamas.

"Morning," I greeted her as pleasantly as I could. She grunted a sleepy reply as she grabbed a muffin from a bowl on the counter. I waited patiently as she ate, knowing she would be a much more pleasant specimen to talk to once he blood sugar was raised. Indeed, she was barely halfway finished when she visibly perked up, sitting taller and smiling happily.

"Are you ready for our excursion?" she question, the excitement clear in her voice. I returned her smile, there was some part of Cara that I believed stayed in perma-happiness; I couldn't imagine her ever being angry or malicious. Surely she was one of the most kind-hearted beings I had ever met.

"Unbearably," I replied and her expression collapsed in a mock-serious manner.

"Now, I can't guarantee your safety," she lowered her voice and raised her dark eyebrows.

"Shall I sign a waiver?" She chuckled and cramming the last of her muffin in her mouth, sprang to her feet and thudded up the stairs to get dressed.

The weather had been surprisingly warm, according to Cara, for December. Nearly all the snow had melted, leaving everything muddy and wet; by the time we completed the two mile walk to the park our shoes were saturated with brown slush. I barely noticed however, for the sun was shining brightly, filling me with a warmth and ecstasy I couldn't begin to explain.

This euphoria must have spread to Cara for she didn't hesitate in imploring me to join her on the nearly collapsed play ground equipment, which seemed pathetically desolate in the winter absence of children.

We toiled away the last of the morning out here; as mid-afternoon approached we found ourselves sitting on the swing set as Cara complained of her now ex-boyfriend Brent's jealousy and assumption that her and I were somehow 'involved'. From the way Cara laughed it off I sensed she wished there was more to our relationship but she also respected the fact that I was uninclined to do so. I couldn't help feeling that there was someone else, someone waiting for me, somewhere.

I watched offhandedly as an incredibly tall Indian with short black hair and dark coppery skin taught over bulky muscles began to walk across the park. I admired the wolfish grace with which he moved, more of a gentle lope than the awkward trudge one would expect a man of his size to move with.

He had nearly crossed the soggy grass when Cara emitted a laugh that would have made a hyena proud and he glanced towards us, as if curious to what could be causing such mirth. His dark head had barely swiveled back forward to continue walking when he did an impressive double take, his expression twisting into surprise and then anger.

"Edward?" his booming voice was filled with disbelief as he approached slowly and I stiffened. His next words were shaking with fury. "Is Bella not good enough for you anymore? Or is this how you always do it, relieving your eternal boredom by charming one human until they're reading to give up their life for you and then moving on to the next?"

Cara blanched and I frowned. Did I know this man? Actually, as he approached I could see he looked no older than I did, it was merely his enormous size that had caused me to misjudge his age. Whoever he thought I was had surely done something to infuriate him. I rose to my feet.

"I'm sorry," I replied as calmly as I could, hoping not to vex him any further. "Do I know you?" The confusion was clearly evident on his face and he ceased to advance, standing little more than ten feet from me. To my own surprise he began to sniff the air, his brow furrowing until his eyebrows nearly touched. His dark eyes scrutinized with so much intensity his gaze was nearly tangible.

"Edward?" he repeated, obviously struggling with something internally.

"Do you know me?" I questioned, feeling slightly elated, despite his apparent anger towards me. Perhaps this was a chance to discover who I really was. I noticed his eyes kept flickering from my eyes to the cast weighing down my arm.

"I thought I did," his voice was baffled and he ran a large hand through his short hair. "I must have been mistaken." He turned his enormous body to leave and I began to panic. I couldn't let him go.

"Wait!" I called to him. "You're name is Jacob, Jacob Black." He swiveled with astounding grace back to face me.

"Edward…" Jacob addressed me. I can't say how I knew his name, I certainly didn't remember who he was, I just knew. Like how one knows to breathe.

"Is that my name?" I tried to keep my voice as serious as possible, but it was difficult, I was so eager to learn anything about myself.

"What do you mean?" Frustration was making itself evident again. "How do you not know your own name?"

"There was an accident," Cara burst in, her face quite pale. Truthfully I had forgotten she was there. "A car accident." Jacob snorted in what I assumed was disbelief.

"Right," he replied sarcastically. "I'm sure perfect Edward could get in a car accident. Are you playing at something here?"

"Who's Bella?" I took no head of his mocking question.

"Bella?" his face softened and I noticed a mixture of emotions storming in his eyes. "You really don't remember?" I shook my head sincerely. Looking over his shoulder as if checking for intruders he spoke again, this time in a significantly more grave tone.

"Perhaps it would be best if you came with me," Jacob suggested though I sensed no warm feeling were behind the decision.

"No!" Cara squealed, stepping closer to the massive Indian. "He can't just go with you; we don't even know who you are!"

"Cara," I tried to comfort her but she glared at me more fiercely than Jacob. "I know him. I know I do."

"That is true," Jacob grumbled. "Though I can't even begin to guess what's happened to you."

"I don't care!" Cara glowered at both of us. "You can't just leave! It's not responsible!" Jacob chuckled in amusement and I couldn't help but smile slightly at her reasoning.

"Would it make you feel better if you came with us?" Jacob offered.

"What?" That was obviously not what Cara had been expecting to hear. "Oh…uh, I guess." She kicked the ground nervously. "Do you know where…Edward…lives?"

"Unfortunately," Jacob replied and I wondered if he was amused by this whole situation. "It's about a four hour drive."

"Where exactly?" Cara demanded and I could sense her dislike for the familiar stranger before us.

"Forks," Jacob replied already walking back in the direction he had come from. I followed quickly behind him, Cara nearly had to job to keep up with his long strides. His car was parked fairly close and Cara slid into the backseat, allowing Jacob and me to occupy the front. Once we had begun driving she whipped out her cell phone and left a message on the house answering machine explaining that we had met up with friends and wouldn't be home until later Sunday.

"Do you live in Forks?" I questioned Jacob hoping more information could help to trigger my memory.

"No," Jacob glanced at me from the corner of his eye as if amused to be explaining this to me. "Just outside in La Push, the Quilete reservation."

"I see,' I replied.

"You're not allowed there," Jacob's eyes glanced at me again, as if anxious to see my reaction. I raised my eyebrows in slight surprise.

"Why not?" Cara asked for me. A sly smile crept on Jacob's brown face.

"It's probably best I don't explain," he answered her cryptically. "But I suppose, given you current condition it doesn't really matter." I frowned again. Why did he keep talking about me like that? As if I was diseased or affected by something disfiguring.

"We're not friends, are we?" Jacob shook his head. The rest of the long drive was pretty much silent. I discovered Jacob had been in Seattle to visit his sisters Rachel and Rebecca and pick up some parts for a car he was working on. I tried questioning about Bella once but he was less than forthcoming to relinquish any information about her. There was no doubt in my mind that she was the girl from my dream.

The sun was almost set by the time we reached the tiny town of Forks. Jacob drive straight through it, after several minutes I was about to ask where he was going when he pulled into a long driveway, snow still pilled where the sun had been unable to reach through the trees. After several minutes of navigating the bumpy driveway we pulled to a stop in front of a large white house. I shivered as I exited into the chilly air. All the windows were darkened and the front door was flung carelessly open. In all, the house looked rather deserted.

"I live here?" I glanced at Jacob who gave a curt nod, though he was looking towards the house with slight confusion as well.

"It looks haunted," Cara remarked ominously.

"It certainly looks empty," I said as I approached the looming building apprehensively. The door swayed slightly as a breeze blew through, biting my face and hands. Beside me, Cara shivered.

Cautiously I mounted the stairs to the entrance, entering the dark room hesitantly, Cara only a few steps behind me. Jacob stayed in the yard, his eyes ceaselessly searching the year. I had to admit, something seemed rather odd. Indeed, my suspicions were further confirmed as I flicked on the light, revealing a large, open white room. It looked as though a rather destructive animal had been let loose in the room, ravaging everything into destruction.

The furniture, a table, several couches and chairs, even what would have been a beautiful black grand piano, was strewn in splintered pieces across the floor. Even several windows of the glass back wall were smashed as though something had been thrown through them. I couldn't even begin to imagine what must have happened here to cause such destruction.

A shriek came from behind me and I turned to see Cara snatched into the hands of surely the most perfect creature I had ever seen. Barely even five feet tall, her small arms held Cara with an unseen strength; the smooth skin of her flawless face was so pale it seemed to glow, sharply contrasting with the dark brown of her short hair. Perhaps the most startling thing about her appearance were the blood red eyes staring at me threateningly.

I had barely processed this magnificent creature when Jacob lithely charged into the room, a look of deep loathing etched in his dark face.

"Let me go!" Cara shouted but the tiny arms around her waist remained where they were. I marveled at her extraordinary strength.

"Shut up," she commanded harshly and Cara obeyed, though I couldn't blame her. The power with which she spoke was more than shocking. A deep, almost animal-like growl came from Jacob and the girl's attention turned towards him, her face wrinkling with disgust.

"Ugh, you smell viler in person, dog," her mouth twisted in distaste. Jacob returned her scowl.

"I might say the same for you, leech," he retorted. I looked between them in confusion.

"Shall we make this quick then?" the deathly pale girl suggested, malice laced deeply through her voice.

"What do you want?" I asked, hoping to avoid any comments that could possibly endanger Cara. The girl turned her attention back to me, smiling in what appeared to be satisfaction.

"I see Claudia has already made business of you," she remarked and my brow creased in confusion. "Now just tell me where she is and your little girlfriend here goes free."

"I don't know," I responded as convincingly as I could, though I knew form the girl's glaring red eyes that that was not the right answer. Her grip on Cara tightened slightly.

"Don't lie to me Edward!" her voice was malicious. "You know where they went and you will tell me." I shook my head, panic starting to build in my throat.

"I don't know who you're talking about," I tried to keep my voice steady. "I don't remember!" A high-pitched, yet unamused laugh escaped the small figure.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" she sounded as though she couldn't even consider what she just heard. "Honestly Edward, I would have thought you would have come up with something a little more convincing than that."

"It's true," Jacob spoke and the girl's face darkened. "He can't remember anything." I willed her to believe. When she spoke next she only looked half-convinced.

"Well, that's too bad then," her words were slow and I became aware of another person approaching behind her. He looked older than her, though not much more than myself, and had the same unearthly complexion as the menacing girl before me. "I guess you'll just have to come with us."

With that, the boy behind her sprang forward with a grace that ought to fit a cat and a black veil was draped across my world. I saw no more.

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_Review! The next chapter is Bella again! _


	11. I hate waiting

_Ok, I lied. This chapter isn't from Bella's POV. It's actually from Ryan's POV (he's the vampire from the Volturi who traveled with Jane to 'help' along Bella's transformation). I had so much fun writing from his POV, it's so nice to be able to write from a character of your own creation, there are no restrictions or guidlines on keeping them in a certain character. He's all mine!_

_So I really hope you enjoy this chapter, since it is a bit different. It should help clear up any questions from last chapter, though don't be afraid to ask if any still remain afterwards! I will be more than happy to clear things up!_

_Anyways, please please please review! I really want to break 300 again and I can't do it without each and everyone of your help! I only forced myself to sit on my butt for four hours straight and write this chapter in order to hear from you, so please make my butt happy and review! Thanks! _

_And Enjoy!_

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**Ryan's POV**

We were going to be in deep shit.

I really didn't even want to think about it. The Volturi, I shuddered at the mere thought of the name, had made it quite clear that we were to return only once we had found Claudia and enlisted her help in the location of the power-filled figurine that Aro desired so badly. It hadn't appeared to be such a difficult task, and now I was sorely proven wrong.

I must admit, I wasn't too thrilled to be working with Jane. She had her own way of doing things that I found rather crude. I had no quarrel with the Cullens and saw no need to antagonize her they way she seemed to enjoy so much. However, no one argues with Jane, her easy use of her horrific power sees to that. Yet, even Jane seemed to cringe at the idea of facing the Volturi's wrath when they arrived and found that our supposed detainees had slipped through our fingers. Though I'm not sure slipped is exactly the right word. More like embarrassingly escaped. I have to say, I was not expecting Bella's access to Claudia's power to be so strong.

Jane woke up before me. I came to conscious slowly; the first thing I was aware of was a loud crashing, like the shattering of a window. In vain I tried to sit up, open my eyes, anything that could give me notice of the battle that was sure to be ensuing around me. A loud crunching proceeded a showering of wood splinters over my body and I managed to wrench my eyelids apart and grunt in surprise.

"How nice of you to wake up," Jane growled, obviously in a very bad mood. We were alone. Jane alone was wrecking havoc in the room, upset at the disappearance of our detainees.

"Did you have to destroy all their furniture?" I asked sarcastically, pushing myself into a sitting position, trying to stretch my strangely fatigued muscles. I couldn't remember feeling this tired since before the fateful day I was bitten by that exotically beautiful vampire.

A wave of panic ensconced me as I realized what had actually happened. Claudia had attacked us, used her power on us. I sprang to my feet, looking down at my body only to have my horror replaced with blissful relief. I was still a vampire. She hadn't turned me human; by the dismal state of the Cullen's belongings it was obvious she had spared Jane as well.

A large, and rather heavy, television crashed into my body, nearly sending me sprawling back to the ground. I glared darkly at Jane as I wiped the debris from my body.

"What was that for?" I questioned angrily. As strange as it seemed, I really did not enjoy having heavy metal-and-glass objects thrown at me.

"For your stupidity, that's what!" Jane shot back and I wondered if Claudia's power had knocked a few nuts and bolts loose. How had I been stupid?

"I'm not quite following," I replied, bracing myself for more weighty objects to come flying in my direction. I relaxed slightly as Jane remained stationary, contenting herself with glaring daggers at me. I knew she was itching to use her power on me, but I was confident that she would refrain from doing so as it would not serve our purpose well to be fighting one another. Instead she contented herself with ramming her tiny fist through the wall.

"You told them we had Edward!" Jane screamed at me. Actually, she had told them that, I had just put the idea in her head. I bit my tongue from saying anything; it would not serve well to aggravate Jane any further.

"Is that significant?" I asked after several silent moments.

"We don't have Edward!" Jane seethed and I almost laughed at her stunning ability of stating the obvious. "The future-seeing one will most likely have seen that. They are probably finding him as we speak, ridding us of our only advantage!"

"I suppose that is a problem," I mumbled, feeling slightly idiotic. I wasn't cut out for this plotting stuff.

"Yes it's a problem!" Jane's voice rose a few octaves. "It's a big problem! We have nothing, not even a hostage! Claudia is gone, probably to find the statue for herself, and the Volturi should be arriving in a few short days!"

Jane was right; we were going to be in big trouble if something didn't happen in our favor. After several minutes of deliberation we decided to try and track the absent vampires, though neither of us was wonderfully skilled in that area. We trailed the scent easily for awhile, but soon it became muddled and mixed. Then it split into several different directions, obviously the group we were tracking had taken much care to confuse anyone who could be following them, such as us. Eventually the trail ended all together, as if the vampires had simply fallen off the face of the earth. Disgruntled and quite discouraged we returned to the Cullen's house in the hopes that soon at least one of them would return. Otherwise I guessed we would just have to wait until the Volturi arrived and a more skilled tracker could locate our quarry.

It didn't take long for things to start looking up however. The moon had begun to light the sky when we became aware of a vehicle pulling up the long driveway. We watched out the window, hidden from view, as an enormously tall Indian approached the house. I didn't recognize him from sight, but it didn't take long for his horribly pungent and bitter smell to penetrate my senses, an unwelcome invader. He was a werewolf, I realized, curling the corner of my lip in disgust as I remembered that a pack of the human dogs lived naught twenty minutes from Forks. Yet, though his scent was repulsive, it made me smile as well for it was one I knew. A quick glance at Jane proved that she had the same thoughts as I. This was the werewolf I had smelled on Bella after her little midnight meeting not too many days ago.

The werewolf paused a few steps from the entrance, sniffing the air and scrutinizing the house carefully. To my surprise Jane sprang to her feet and lithely glided out the door to great the two-legged dog, a malicious smile transforming her face. I scrambled up behind her, stopping on the porch, fighting the urge to gag as the stench of werewolf nearly overwhelmed my senses.

"Hello Jacob," Jane's voice was mocking and the werewolf's face twisted in anger.

"What have you done with them?" Jacob shouted, his whole body beginning to tremble.

"Done with whom?" Jane egged him on and I wanted to advice her to stop. I had the feeling it would not be wise to anger a werewolf.

"Don't play games with me bloodsucker!"

"Oh, you must be talking about a certain newborn," Jane said slowly, testily. Jacob's face fell in horror and disbelief.

"What do you mean?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Surely you can't be surprised?" Jane mocked surprise of her own. I tensed, disliking what she was doing to Jacob, be he a werewolf or not. "I'm sure you knew this was coming." Jacob shook his head in denial.

"You're lying," he sounded flat, empty. I could almost see his heart breaking and it saddened me. Jane ignored his comment.

"Of course, it quite an unpleasant situation…" Jane trailed off and I groaned internally, sensing what she was trying to achieve.

"Why?" the werewolf snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously. "What happened?" Jane shrugged rather nonchalantly.

"It was really quite sad," she lowered her head as if in sorrow. "Bella had changed her mind, you see. She no longer wanted eternal life, but that wasn't savvy with Edward." She shuddered and I looked away, wanting to have no part of her lies.

"He lost it," she continued after a painful moment. "I've never seen anyone go so crazy. He lunged for her, shouting that he couldn't truly love her until she was his equal. Until she was damned as he was. Then…well, I suppose you can figure out the rest…"

After several moments of silence I chanced a glance back at Jacob; his hands were tightened into hard fists and his breathing was jagged in fury.

"Of course, now he's gone and run off," Jane sighed, her eyes flashing to Jacob expectantly. "Bella's quite heartbroken of course. If only he wasn't such a coward and was here to face her, you know, live up to his actions."

"Let me see her," Jacob growled at Jane, taking two steps forward before Jane wagged a finger at him.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Jane looked back at the house apprehensively. I must admit, her acting was quite convincing. If I hadn't known otherwise, I would have believed her dismal story. "You being made of blood and all."

"She wouldn't…" Jacob trailed off, suddenly sounding unsure of himself.

"Oh, there's nothing she can't do now," Jane smiled harshly. Jacob seemed to deliberate for over something for a long while and I knew Jane was going to get what she wanted. I suppose I wanted it too, for it would save our hides from the Volturi, though I wished we could have acquired it by other means.

"I'll find him," Jacob eventually growled. "I'll bring him back to pay for what he's done." Jane's hands clasped in satisfaction.

"Would you?" she asked sweetly. "Bella would be so happy."

"Where did he go?" the werewolf asked with amazing vehemence. Jane shook her head dolefully.

"That's the problem," she replied quietly. "No one can find him."

"I'll find him," Jacob muttered, more to himself than to us before turning back to his car.

"I know you will," Jane whispered, barely audible even to my ears as he drove off.

For three days we waited, every second seeming an hour and every hour a millennia, dreading each second that the Volturi would charge through the door, expecting us to serve them the figurine on a silver platter.

Jane was unbearable, constantly pacing or miraculously finding things to break that she hadn't already demolished. Neither of us liked sitting around here waiting for our fate to unravel before us. But there was nothing we could do, we couldn't track the other Cullen's, they had seen to that, and we had no way of locating where they went. The Volturi had no idea where this power-saturated statue would be, so we were at a complete loss there. We had to trust the werewolf to find Edward before the Cullens, our best guess was that they had split up, half to retrieve the figurine and the rest to locate Edward.

I sighed, my eyes methodically following Jane back and forth across the floor, the carpet starting to wear beneath her feet. How had I gotten myself into this situation? Sometimes I questioned the reason I joined the Volturi. Though I had really no problem feeding on humans, I wasn't too fond of destroying those like me, which is what I seemed to spend the majority of my time doing. It was unbelievable how many vampires crossed the line towards exposing our kind. Mainly newborns, but every so often an unruly, but more experienced vampire was causing the damage. Most of them had a death wish; the immortal life was not for everyone. After hundreds of years, usually alone or with one or two others, it was not uncommon for a vampire to go mad.

On the second day we fed, traveling far enough from Forks as to not break the treaty Carlisle had made with the werewolves. The last thing we needed now was a pack of human dogs signing our death warrant. We found some campers about two hours away. There was only two and I know Jane would have desired more, but we couldn't risk being gone for so long.

The sun had set on the third day when he returned, leading a rather disgruntled and very human looking Edward. I don't think I'd seen Jane so happy since the Egyptian massacre eleven years ago. To our surprise another human followed Edward from the car; a girl in her late teens, pleasantly plump and framed with long brown hair. She looked rather nervous as they approached the house, Jacob holding back in the yard hesitantly, a turmoil of emotions twisting his expression.

Jane and I hid ourselves amongst the wreckage of the room, avoiding detection as Edward and they unfamiliar girl entered through the front door. When Edward was distracted by the rather ominous state of the room, Jane crept silently behind the brunette and with speed only a vampire could demand, wrapped her small arms around the girl's waist, causing her to shriek and struggle in surprise.

Jacob entered the room then, and Jane's eyes flickered towards me so quickly that a normal human wouldn't have noticed, but her meaning was clear enough to me. I sighed; Edward was too enthralled in Jacob and Jane's fake conversation of surprise at seeing one another that at first he didn't notice me approaching. His eyes were full of awe and astonishment at what was happening and for a moment I was puzzled. Why did no recognition flit across his face? Surely his becoming human hadn't impaired his mind? I tuned back into the conversation.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Edward was saying, in obvious distress. "I don't remember!" Jane laughed in amusement, though I wasn't as quick to dismiss his statement as her. It was all too odd…

"I'm supposed to believe that? Honestly Edward, I would have thought you would have come up with something a little more convincing than that." To my great surprise Jacob stepped into his defense. Perhaps he wasn't as convinced by Jane's falsities as I had previously thought.

"It's true. He can't remember anything." Jane's face fell slightly with Jacob's mixed allegiances. She had expected, as had I, his full cooperation with our cause.

"Well that's too bad then," Jane's words were slow and I knew it was my turn to act. "I guess you'll just have to come with us."

I jumped forward, not as quickly as I was capable of, but to the human's it must have looked like I was flying, to Edward's side, drawing my veiling powers across his eyes. The girl shrieked at my quick movements and Jane jerked her roughly, causing her to whimper in pain. I hoped, for her sake, that she would remain relatively unresisting.

Edward's hands were at his face, his fingers probing frantically, as if searching for a blindfold. His eyes roamed in panic, unfocused and unseeing. Jacob stepped forward menacingly, his huge body looming over us rather frighteningly.

"What did you do to him?" he growled and Jane emitted a sincere laugh.

"What, are you trying to protect him now?" Jacob growled, a throaty animal sound.

"I don't trust you," he shot back.

"Well you better start if you ever want to see your precious Bella again," Jane responded and the werewolf's mouth tightened into a hard line.

Edward's mouth moved noiselessly, struggling to emit words that my invisible curtain wouldn't allow to escape. It was really quite disconcerting really, though I hadn't had a first hand experience of it, having all your senses shut off. Quite a useful power at times like these, though undoubtedly unpleasant for the one who had suddenly become blind, deaf, and mute. I placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him of another's presence and cease his frantic movements.

The girl wrapped in Jane's arms gave a quiet sob of fear. My vampire partner looked at me as though about to command me, but then seemed to give a second thought.

"Damn you and your limited powers," she muttered and turned instead to Jacob, who was standing so still it was a wonder he hadn't turned into stone.

"Would you mind securing us some rope?" she asked sweetly. The werewolf gave no indication of obeying her.

"Why would I help you?" he asked, disgusted. "In fact, why shouldn't I just kill you now?" Jane shook her head.

"You wouldn't want the wrath of the Volturi down on your head now would you?" she threatened. "Even your little clan of dogs couldn't fight off them. Besides, our interest belongs with Bella. You would like to see her again I believe?" Jacob seemed quite disdainful of being reasoned to by a vampire, but he turned without a word and exited the house, returning brief moments later with a line of rope.

We secured both Edward and the girl's hands behind their backs and, after forcing them to the floor, bound their ankles tightly with the remainder of the rope. Jacob lingered reluctantly in a corner for the ordeal and I marveled at how strong his feelings for Bella must be to remain in a house full of vampires for so long.

After our hostages were successfully bound Jane was in a much better mood. Her pacing was lighter and her mannerisms towards me were much more pleasant. Jacob remained, though he had exited the house and waited as far away as possible in the yard, quite clearly consumed only with checking the validity of Jane's story. Briefly I wondered what he would do once he found out it was all a falsehood.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait very long. The sun was beginning to rise, promising another sunny day, when we caught the scent of four other vampires approaching the house. Jane skipped outside to great them and I followed a pace slower. Halfway through the night I had unveiled Edward's senses, and we had no fear of them escaping anytime soon.

Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Emmett approached with frightening expressions on their faces. I was quite thankful we had the advantage of the hostage, for I wasn't too sure, even with Jane's debilitating power, that we could have overcome them had they felt the need to fight.

"Where is he?" Alice shouted, her tiny body shaking in anger. "I know he's here so don't lie to me Jane!" She spit my accomplice's name.

"I wouldn't lie to you," Jane replied, always smooth. "Yes he is here, and his little friend as well." If they were surprised by this news, they did not betray it.

"Please," Carlisle pleaded as calmly as Jane. "Let us see him."

"Not before you tell us where Bella is," Jane countered without hesitation. Emmett seemed to be struggling to not launch himself at the threatening vampire.

"We don't know where Bella is," Alice spoke and Jane shot her a death-glare.

"You're lying," she replied as if stating the world was round. "I know you can see them. What they're going to do." Alice matched her stare and I could almost see the sparks fly between them.

"Show us Edward," she growled with more force than I would have imagined possible from her body. Jane opened her mouth to speak and I nearly groaned myself. This was going to get us nowhere. However, to my surprise she consented.

"All right," she agreed slowly, as if tasting the words before allowing them to escape from her mouth. "He's inside." She led the way back into the house and I took up the rear, all four Cullens grouped between us.

Once inside Alice flung herself at Edward, wrapping her tiny arms around him in tight relief, Esme close beside her, looking close to tears, if it were possible, at the sight of her adopted son. Carlisle remained further back, obviously relieved to see the former vampire, his eyes intently searching for any signs of injury or distress.

Edward, however, appeared positively terrified, and I couldn't blame him, if he truly couldn't remember. The girl beside him tried to scoot herself back further, as if afraid of receiving the same attention.

"I was so worried," Alice mumbled, her head still buried in Edward's shoulder. "We didn't know what happened to you. When I couldn't see you anymore…" She pulled back slightly and trailed off as she caught Edward's expression.

"What's wrong?" Esme questioned gently, kneeling in one bird-like motion. "Are you hurt?"

"He doesn't know you," Jane laughed, enjoying the situation. I wished I could leave. "He can't remember anything."

"What did you do?" Emmett asked, his voice erupting from his chest for the first time. Jane held up her hands as if warding off the accusation.

"I did nothing," she responded. "He apparently did that himself." All attention was back on Edward, who was studying their faces with a mixture of wonder and fear.

"Is this true Edward?" Carlisle questioned gently, his voice amazingly comforting. "You don't remember us?" Edward shook his head strongly, confidence growing in his face again. Carlisle's face fell sadly.

"Now, we should you Edward," Jane brought the attention back to herself. "Now tell us where Bella is. I promise, we do not mean to harm her." I wondered how she could possibly expect them to believe her after she had personally shoved a knife in her stomach naught a week ago. Alice looked to Carlisle, who nodded before speaking.

"Spain. They're in Spain."

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_Again, let me know what you thought! Did you like Ryan's POV? I'm itching to write another one from his eyes, but first I want to know if you liked it or not. If not, than I will stick to the main characters. Oh, and who would you like to hear from next? I haven't started the next chapter yet so I'm open to suggestions!_

_I'll get the next chapter out as quickly as possible! I promise!_


	12. Notice

_Hi everyone, I just want to apologize that this is taking me so long. I have seriously about the worst writers block that I have ever had. I just have no clue what to do next. _

_Don't get me wrong, I had the whole thing planned out, but when I try and write it, I don't know how! I've tried to start chapter twelve probably a million times and it seems like crap, crap, and more crap! I'm not sure why. _

_That's why this is taking me so long. I promise I'll post as soon as I get this figured out. I'm going to try and wrap the story up in one to two chapters as well because right now I just don't have time to update as often as I like. School has started, which means three AP classes, and cross country is in full swing which takes up so much time. _

_Since my ideas just don't seem to be working out to well, I wanted to leave the ending open for suggestions. Review and let me know how you want to see it end, or what you want to happen. Maybe I'll find an idea that's better, and certainly easier to write, than my own. _

_Again, I'm really sorry this is taking me so long! _


	13. Arrivals

_Wahoo! I finally completed the next chapter! I am so so so so sorry it took me so long! I feel really terrible about it. _

_I changed my tatics slightly, twisted the plot in a slightly new way, to try and perhaps make my brain work a little better. I'm hoping that my stupid writer's block is gone, but I promise you I will not let it take me so long to update again! This was a ridiculously long time. _

_I don't really have anything else to say except I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Perhaps my muse was starved of reviews..._

_Enjoy!_

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**Edward's POV**

These people around me. People too perfect to believe, with pale skin and flawless features. I felt as though I was in a dream. A dream with angels.

I couldn't imagine these angels had any relation to myself. They were too beautiful, too perfect. I certainly wasn't ugly, but by no means could I compare with these fantastical beings.

I thought I would faint when the smallest one threw herself around me with a familiarity I could not fathom. She remained by my side; her tiny hand gripping my shoulder with the strength of reinforced steel.

Words were being spoken and they filtered through my mind without much definition.

"Spain?" Someone was asking. The pixie-like girl gripping my shoulder nodded.

"There's no need to rush off," her voice rang like delicate chiming bells. "They should be returning shortly." The words meant nothing to me, I neither knew who they were talking about or what they were trying to achieve. I was simply enraptured by the angels who I knew had come to save me.

"Leave us," a beautifully rich but commanding voice came from the one who looked to be the oldest, though he could not be more than twenty-five. Our captor, whose name I believed to be Jane, simply laughed, a million raindrops tinkling on glass.

"Why would I do that" her childlike voice questioned "when I have something you do not? No, Edward is ours until you give us what we were sent for."

The pixie girl's hand tightened uncomfortably on my shoulder, squeezing with a strength I would not have thought possible from her tiny body, and I shifted slightly and she eased her grip, smiling at me apologetically.

"Please," the musical voice pleaded. "I give you my word we shall not attempt anything out of your interest. I simply want to talk with my son."

Jane glanced her deep maroon eyes between us pensively, trying to decide how to play this out to her benefit, no doubt. After a few tense seconds she nodded.

"All right," she consented. "But know I shall not hesitate to interfere if I deem it necessary. In fact it would be quite interesting to discover what effect that might have on your little humans."

By the death glares shot across the room at the girl I knew her threat was quite valid, though I couldn't imagine what such a tiny creature as herself could possibly do that would anger the five incredibly capable looking beings that knew me so well.

She gave another lighthearted chuckle before turning to exit through the front door, her silent comrade following behind her. I gawked as, with no visible effort, she ripped the door from its hinges, flinging it aside as though it weighed no more than a small book. The she gave one last warning glance into the room before disappearing into the front yard.

Immediately all attention turned back towards Cara and me, the two women quickly working to undo our bindings. The oldest looking one, though she couldn't have been much older than her mid-twenties, with distinctive motherly features grasped onto my broken hand with more concerned that I would have presumed necessary.

"You're hurt!" she exclaimed with a voice that sounded near tears. Her eyes gazed into my face with an intense sadness. "Oh Edward, what's happened to you?"

My mouth opened to speak but no voice would exit my throat, my words died on my tongue and I quickly pressed my lips together, glancing at the ground nervously. What could I possibly have done to warrant such concern from these beautiful creatures?

"It was a car accident," Cara's voice sounded pinched and I was impressed that she had found it at all. "I…I lost control of my car and ran into him. He's been living with us until we could find his family…" Cara trailed off uncertainly.

"Well you've certainly found us," the man who had persuaded our captors to leave remarked with a touch of humor in his voice. He smiled at her warmly, his reassurance melting my worries like butter. "Might I inquire as to who you are?" Cara's eyes flickered toward me before answering.

"My name is Cara," she responded. "Cara Sweeney."

"Well Cara Sweeney," he took her quaking hand in his own consolingly before continuing. "I promise you I shall try my hardest to restore you to your own family."

Cara nodded, her eyes blinking rapidly, as if to keep her tears from spilling down her cheeks. The man squeezed her hand tightly, as if sealing his promise, before turning his attention back towards myself. The short, spiky-haired girl, who reminded me slightly of a faery, positioned herself beside Cara, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as though they were close friends.

"Do you remember nothing at all?" the velvet voice questioned me gently and I shook my head hesitantly, afraid of disappointing them. Guilt washed over me at the stricken looks on each face.

"I'm sorry," I exclaimed, putting a hand to my head and trying to dig into the empty chasm I called my mind, searching for anything thing at all. The motherly one took my undamaged hand in her own, her fingers cold as ice, yet strangely comforting. The feeling felt slightly familiar, even though I couldn't quite place it.

"There's nothing to apologize," she assured me and I smiled meekly. She turned back to the man who had spoken to me previously and addressed him with an intimacy I could only imagine meant marriage, or thereabouts.

"Carlisle," the name had barely left her lips when everything changed. It was as though a gigantic screen had been placed in front of my eyes; my ears rang, blocking out all other noise, though I still heard, as if coming from inside me.

I saw him, saw Carlisle, his deathly pale face smudged with dirt, a saddened and wary look in his amber eyes. He was looking down at me I realized, a lumpy mattress pressed into my sweaty back. I tried to speak as he moved silently about the room, closing doors and securing windows tightly, but the words dried in my throat.

Waves of heat lolled over me, seducing me into sleep and my eyes closed graciously, only to be reopened by fingers of ice gently brushing my cheeks.

Immediately I sensed something wasn't right; Carlisle looked upon me with an expression of utter reluctance and hatred, not at me, but directed towards himself. My heart began to race as he leaned in close to me, his icy breath ruffling my damp hair as he whispered two words softly in my ear.

"I'm sorry."

Then his teeth sank into my flesh.

My eyes snapped open and my hands immediately shot to my throat. The skin was smooth and unbroken, but that did nothing to sway my anxiety. I gazed at each beautiful being in the room with wide eyes, names springing to my mind with stunning clarity.

Emmett, Esme, Alice.

Lastly my gaze fell on Carlisle, his sincere and caring expression made it nearly impossible to believe what I had seen, but I knew it to be true. I knew because I remembered.

But why? That was still unclear to me. Why had such a kindly and loving man done such a horrific thing? In my memory I had seen the hatred he had directed towards himself and the utter loathing of the act he was about to perform.

"Carlisle," the name left my mouth barely louder than a breath, but I knew he could hear me.

"What is it?" Carlisle questioned, leaning closer to me. I found myself pushing back, involuntarily. He paused sensing my discomfort. "What do you remember?"

Then the bomb went off. An explosion of images, sounds, feelings, colors…A flood, breaking through the concrete dam and filling my mind roughly, painfully.

I winced, raising my fingers to my head and tightening my jaw as I tried to make sense of the cataclysm that was my mind. Imagine living in a dark basement for one hundred years and then emerging in an instant into downtown metropolitan New York. That would be very near to the sensation I was now experiencing.

Then it stopped. As quickly as it had exploded the debris from the bomb settled in a rather disorganized manner on the long-empty floor of my mind. Quickly I picked at it, picking up anything I could grasp.

"Jane!" I exclaimed, leaping to my feet. "Bella, she stabbed Bella!" Frantically I glanced around the destroyed room, as if it could give me clues as to my love's current state of being.

"Bella's alright," she reassured me, wrapping thin fingers around my shoulder. I relaxed slightly until another thought penetrated my mind.

"Is she…" my voice faltered at the horrifying thought. I struggled to remember, had I changed her? Or had Carlisle managed to fix her wound? Emmett shifted feet uncomfortably.

"Yes," Esme replied quietly. "She's been changed." I felt my shoulders sag in disappointment. Bella, my clumsy, blushing human, was now cold. Cold and graceful, but worst of all, she was soulless. I had destroyed the one chance she had to ever complete her destiny, to journey into the next life, whatever that may be.

"Where is she?" I demanded. "I need to see her."

"Edward," it was Emmett who spoke now, and I looked at him in slight surprise. "You're human now; Bella is a newborn, barely over a week old. Meeting with her might not be the wisest course of action."

"I'm afraid that might be unavoidable," Alice chimed in, her face screwed up in intense concentration. When she relaxed slightly her eyes flickered between Carlisle and myself, as if unsure whom to address. "She will be here in less than ten minutes. They have the figurine."

Her eyes closed for another few brief minutes before speaking again.

"The Volturi shall also be here shortly," she announced, motioning towards Cara. "We need to get her out." Carlisle pondered this new information for a short while, eventually nodding in agreement.

"Change me!" I shouted, entirely too frustrated with being so helpless. "I cannot do anything like this!" Carlisle shook his head.

"There is not enough time," Emmett tried to reason with me and I glared at him as fiercely as I could muster. "And we can't have you screaming on the floor while we try to deal with the Volturi."

"Emmett's right," Alice chirped and I redirected my death-glare in her direction.

"I don't care," I said, already knowing how stupid I must sound.

"Edward," Carlisle sighed, anticipating my stubbornness. "Bella is a newborn. We cannot have her around you when Claudia is not controlling her body. Besides, I very much doubt there is anything she needs protection from."

I reeled slightly at this news. Claudia? Then in an instant it all made sense; the voice she had been hearing, Marcus's insistence for her to retrieve me from the dead. It was all in an attempt to bring back Claudia, his lost love.

I looked around at each member of my family, but I could tell there was no chance of dissuading any of them.

"Fine," I grumbled reluctantly.

"I know how hard this is for you Edward." I shrugged of Esme's attempt at comfort, feeling slightly guilty at the hurt I was causing my family. Perhaps hot-headedness was one of those human traits that was disposed of along with the blood during a transformation.

Suddenly each vampire stiffened and I mentally cursed that I could not sense what they were.

"They're here," Carlisle said softly, sensing my unease.

"They were faster than I thought," Alice sounded abashed at the error in her vision. I felt my stomach sinking.

"Who?" I whispered. Already knowing the answer.

"The Volturi," Alice's voice fell ominously in the quiet room. I motioned for Cara to stand, which she obeyed, if not somewhat clumsily. Grabbing her wrist, I pulled her behind the four vampires, giving her as much protection as was possible. Why had I allowed her to come? All I had done was put her life in danger - she who had done so much to help me. My mental berating wasn't going to solve the problem however, and I tried to focus on what we had at hand. Our best hope would be to meet some sort of peaceful agreement with the Volturi.

It was then that I heard it as well. Jane's voice filtered weakly through the doorless front entrance, addressing someone with a respect that she had reserved specifically for three people. A reply came, to low for my pathetic human ears to catch, yet I could still almost feel the anger that was emitted from the speaker. For a brief second, very brief mind you, I almost felt sorry for Jane, she had called the Volturi on false pretenses, anticipating ahead what she had believed would come to pass and had proven to be sorely wrong.

She entered the room first, followed as usual by Ryan, and they shuffled to the side wall, both looking rather forlorn, though Ryan not quite as drastically as Jane. I heard Cara gasp as our next unwelcome guest entered, gliding across the floor with a grace one would have to see to believe.

I must admit, I was quite surprised when no one followed behind Marcus; it was quite unusual for the Volturi to leave something, especially of such importance, to only one of their trio.

"Hello, Marcus," Carlisle greeted in a pleasant but cold manner. Cara's hands clutched my arm tightly. I was unsure of how to reassure her, not knowing what Marcus had in mind. Desperately I wished I had not lost my mind-reading ability in my conversion to mortalness.

"Where is she?" Marcus lost no time in getting to the chase, though his voice was level and calm. Outwardly he showed no sign of agitation that anything had not gone according to plan.

"Who would you mean?" Carlisle asked, almost tauntingly. Marcus's milky red eyes penetrated deep into Carlisle's. "Bella, or Claudia?"

"You know what I want Carlisle," Marcus replied, his voice biting. "Don't play the fool."

"I know what you desire Marcus, I am merely curious as to why you desire such a powerful object. Is your rule not complete as it is?"

"You would be best to choose your words wisely," Marcus warned, his eyes flickering back toward Cara and me. "Might I inquire as to our human guest?" I pulled Cara closer to me as she shuddered under Marcus's piercing gaze.

"She has nothing to do with this," I said defensively. Marcus raised his eyebrows at me.

"Edward," the hint of sarcasm was evident "I barely recognized you." I fumed silently, knowing anything I could possibly retort would only worsen the situation.

"He's only like that because your Jane there decided to take matters into her own hands," Alice shot at him in my stead. Carlisle passed her a warning glance. Marcus raised a hand as if to dissuade his fears.

"No need to worry, I do not plan on harming any of you. All I want is the figurine."

At that moment I became aware of another presence entering the room. For a moment my heart soared as I caught sight of the beautiful human I had fallen in love with oh-so-long ago. Only now she wasn't a human anymore.

She certainly was beautiful, more beautiful than any creature I had ever laid eyes upon. But her skin was a little too pale and her hair slightly too shiny. She was no longer the Bella I had known. She was a new Bella.

My love was a vampire.

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_Well there you have it. The long awaited chapter (literaly). Please review!! I want to know what you think! _

_I'm also curious to know who wants to see Edward turned back into a vampire. Cast your vote!_


	14. Dying Kiss

_I am so sorry this took me so long! I'm also really sorry to have to say that at the beginning of each chapter. You would not believe how swamped down with homework I am. I seriously have about five minutes a day to type and you can imagine how far that gets me. I hope you can find it in your hear to forgive me._

_I must say, there isn't a single person who wants Edward to stay human. Not that I was expecting any different. It was interesting some of the comments I got though, thanks to everyone who took the time to review. They mean the world to me, seriously they do._

_Ok, before we get to the chapter, I have to put a warning. You will not understand this at all if you haven't read Cold As Fire. You can attempt, but I'm not guaranteeing full enjoyment of the chapter. _

_Also, you need to remember what Jane told Jacob earlier in this story. She told him that Edward had changed Bella against her will, which was why he was so vehment in finding the 'bloodsucker'. It would also be good to remember that Claudia was previously stuck in 'limbo', per se, that she was in between death and life, and therefore saw all souls traveling to the afterlife. _

_Ok, I think that's enough notes. Enjoy!_

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**Bella's POV**

I have to admit, moving to Forks had certainly turned me into a world traveler. Although it is strange to think that each time I have boarded a plane of late someone's life seems to be in danger.

Funny how some things work.

The majority of the time in Spain I had spent trapped inside my own head, and while I knew it was for my own protection, as well as for the lives of all the innocent humans who happened across my path.

I shall never forget the first time I smelled human blood after my transformation. We had stepped into the open air near the airport, bustling with the busy lives of humans, their hearts pumping in excitement as they run to catch their planes, sweat licking at their backs and foreheads.

My reaction made Jasper look like a Buddhist monk. I fought tooth and nail (figuratively of course) against Claudia's hold over my body, screaming internally with such intensity that she eventually put a fist through a large concrete poll in the parking garage. But still she would not relinquish her control and I would not appreciate her efforts until long after.

I cannot begin to describe to you how desperately I wanted to kill, to gash open the throats and drink the warm, sweet blood that oozed from the wounds of each mortal in the airport. The thought consumed me, evaporating everything else, except for perhaps how much I despised Claudia for keeping me from what I desired – what I needed.

I fought her the entire way over to Spain, my efforts only waning slightly by the time the plane had settle to a stop on the opposite side of the ocean. I was hungry, so very hungry, and these thoughts, coupled with the fresh smell of blood warmed by the Spanish sun renewed my strength in my attempts to regain the control I had lost of my own body.

_Stop!_ Claudia had eventually screamed at me. _You need to control yourself. Think about what you're doing, do you really want to kill all these people?_

What an ironic thing to say, considering Claudia herself had never even attempted to abstain from a diet consisting predominantly from humans. Yet despite my vehemence to feast on human flesh, night came quickly and with it a suffocating feeling of guilt.

We had stopped to rest in a vacated area, no human was around for miles and miles, and Claudia had grated her way into the back of my mind, finally allowing me to uncomfortably regain control over my limbs. I sat quietly, hugging my legs tightly and letting the horrors of my actions was over me. Had I really wanted to kill all those people? Me, Isabella Marie Swan, a cold-blooded murderer? Or perhaps I wasn't me anymore. Perhaps the Bella Swan I had once been had died during my transformation, replaced with the cold, indestructible predator that I was now. Truth-be-told, it frightened me.

"You're scared," Rosalie's voice had put my thoughts into words. I turned towards her in slight confusion. She had remained mostly silent for the better part of the trip, dismayed, I had assumed, at having to spend so much time with me.

"I don't need any powers to read the emotions on your face," she clarified. For the first time I was thankful tears could not grace my cheeks.

"Does it get better?" I could barely find my voice to speak. Jasper was watching us quietly, a rather pained look on his face. Rosalie nodded if only slightly.

"In time it does," she replied and her lips turned up into a sort of half-smile. "I don't see you being any more inhibited by blood lust than any of us." I forced a smile. Jasper moved slightly closer to me in a comforting manner, though being careful not to make any contact. We were still not quite sure whether I could control Claudia's strength-sucking powers.

"It happens to all of us," Jasper reassured, his voice empathetic. "It does not make you a monster." I tried to make myself believe his words.

"You know that none of us have completely abstained from human blood," he continued after a few moments of silence. "Even Esme has slipped up and she's possibly the most kind-hearted person I have ever sensed." The rock I had been turning over in my hand fell to the ground, a pile of dust. I didn't have to say anything for him to know that his words were appreciated.

We would soon find the reason for Claudia's insistence that Jasper accompany us in our quest for the figurine. We had barely reached the outskirts of a small town near the border into France, the smell of blood not yet strong enough for me to be overcome, when Jasper stopped abruptly, his eyes going wide and his head snapping around as if searching for something.

"What is it?" Rosalie questioned, her eyes flickering towards me, waiting for an explanation from Claudia.

"There's so many," Jasper replied, his forehead scrunching in concentration. "How can such a small town have so much fear and hate?"

_We're here_, Claudia thought for my benefit before orally answering Jasper's question.

"It's not the town, it's the relic. When I transferred each individual 'life force', as it were, the tiny statue was heavily imprinted with the last emotions my victims were feeling before I stole their immortality."

Rosalie looked slightly disgusted at the explanation. I couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy myself. However, it had been relatively easy to find. Jasper led us as he followed the direction the swarm of emotions was coming from, his expression consistently sour. It was located in the basement of an old dusty house on the opposite edge of town, the all-powerful object surprisingly small and delicate, it's dusty white china cracked with age.

Claudia had insisted we not touch it, a request Jasper seemed to have no trouble with, and we wrapped it in a large scarf, stuffing it in Rosalie's rather expensive designer purse, much to her dismay.

After that it had been straight back to Forks, a journey made to seem incredibly long the fact I couldn't sleep through it. Perhaps it took a while for the whole timeless thing vampires seem to have going on to take effect.

We had barely entered the Cullen's winding driveway when I spotted Jacob. He was pacing, the muddy ground caking his bare feet. Truthfully, I had forgotten about Jacob. The recent series of events had taken my mind from any problems I seemed to have been having as a human.

We approached silently, Jacob so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't seem to notice us at first. I found I had no trouble resisting his blood – it smelled absolutely vile. How I had never noticed how rancid his scent was is beyond me. It nearly took everything I could muster to keep approaching him. Claudia had realized that allowing me control wouldn't endanger anyone's life and receded into my mind.

As I got closer a strange throbbing in my chest made me realize how much I had actually missed Jacob. At least until he noticed me. If I had been expecting an eager welcome, to be suffocated in one of his huge bear hugs that I had grown to love, I was to be sorely disappointed. Jacob's nose wrinkled and he took in my new appearance with a startling anger.

"Bella," his voice was harsh, yet I could sense an undertone of sadness.

_Be very careful_, Claudia's all-too-familiar voice echoed in my head. _He's upset._

_Of course he's upset_, I thought back. _I'm a vampire now._

"Jacob…" I didn't mean for my voice to sound so pleading. Jasper and Rosalie stood rather uncomfortably to the side.

"I was hoping they'd lied." His fists were clenched so tightly the tendons were nearly popping through the russet skin. I could only fathom his meaning. "Then he did change you."

"Jacob, please understand…"

"Was it against your will?" There was a new intensity in his words that made me nearly balk.

"What?" I had to suppress the urge to laugh; a reaction I knew would not go over well. The idea of Edward changing me without my consent was preposterous. "Of course not, who told you that?" Suddenly something seemed to slide into place in my mind.

"Jake, who told you that, was it Jane?" How I hated that little…you know.

"If she's the one who likes about twelve, than yeah, she told me." If my heart could still beat, it would have challenged a jackhammer to its money.

"Does she have Edward?" The words exploded from my mouth before I could think of what I was saying. Jacob's face fell in obvious hurt of my concern for Edward. Really though, you think he would expect it by now.

"Yes," he replied, suddenly looking quite confused. "What's happened to him? He looked…human." I bit my lip, trying to sort everything out in my mind as well.

"There's no time to explain now," I hoped he wouldn't be too upset at my sudden haste. His face had turned into a stony mask, regarding me no different than he did any of the other 'bloodsuckers'. I looked anxiously in the direction of the house.

"Right," Jacob replied monotonously.

_We need to go on_, Claudia urged.

"You should leave," I suggested, starkly reminded of the night, not so long ago, when we had said our unofficial goodbye.

"Right," he repeated, turning his back on me to walk, rather stiffly, down the driveway.

"Jacob," I shouted after him, causing him to pause slightly in his walk before continuing on as if he hadn't heard anything. "I'm sorry."

"Come on Bella," Jasper's fingers brushed my hair and I turned to him, nodding sadly. There was a loud crunching of bones and I whipped around in time to see Jacob's shredded pants falling gently to the ground, a trail of paw prints leading into the surrounding forest.

"Let's go." Rosalie was already running towards the house, Jasper and I were close to follow. We slowed to a stop before the door-less entrance.

_Perhaps I should take over from here,_ Claudia more commanded than suggested.

"No," I replied aloud, Rosalie looking at me slightly funny.

_No,_ I repeated in my head. _I can do this._ To my surprise Claudia didn't contest me.

We plunged in the room, immediately aware of everyone's attention focusing on us. And by everyone, I mean everyone. Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Emmett were standing protectively before Edward and another girl I didn't recognize, Jane and Ryan were deathly still beside Marcus, whom I was slightly surprised to note was alone.

Marcus's gaze on me was the most intense. His eyes were questioning, curious, as if trying to see something beyond my exterior.

"Marcus," I breathed, my eyes narrowing in betrayal. How could I have been so stupid to believe he had helped me bring Edward back because he cared? He was a Volturi for crying out loud, there had to be some reason for him to benefit.

"Do you have it?" Marcus sounded stiff and unnatural. I didn't answer.

_Let me,_ Claudia pleaded, a strange note in her voice too. _Let me take over._

I didn't protest for once, as Claudia slid to the front of my mind, pushing me away gently, the transition becoming ever smoother and pain-free.

"We have it," Claudia's sultry low voice oozed from my lips. Something flashed across Marcus's face at her voice, replaced by his calm façade in an instant. Without any visible motion of his feet, he moved a step closer. Waves of emotion were sweeping through me, though I knew they were Claudia's and not my own.

"Claudia," Marcus could have been addressing a business partner for all the compassion that was evident in his voice.

"It needs to be destroyed." I could almost see the tension between the old lovers. Marcus moved ever closer, until he was barely three feet away.

"It needs to be used," he countered, his eyes smoldering into mine. Even as miniscule as I was inside my own mind, I was quaking with fear. Claudia, however, showed no sign of being the least bit intimidated.

"That is not what I intended it for," she battered with him.

"That is no matter to us." Claudia narrowed my eyes, as if trying to better observe her old mate.

"You've changed," she remarked, her voice soft and sad. "You're spirit has been twisted along with your looks, that is obvious to me now." Everyone in the room had stiffened, unsure of how this meeting would go.

"And I see your spite has not been altered in the slightest." Was it just me or did Marcus's lips twitch slightly at his observation?

"Marcus," Claudia ignored his comment, her voice serious. "If you've ever cared for me than you won't do this. I've seen too much death of late to wish this sort of power in the hands of any being."

"I never wanted that for you," I had never heard Marcus sound more vulnerable before. I almost felt a strange pity for him. It was obvious they had both forgotten they were not alone in the room.

"I know you didn't," Claudia laid a hand on Marcus's arm. "But don't let this be the path you choose. The Volturi doesn't need this. You don't need this." Marcus returned her grip; I shivered internally as his nearly translucent hand pressed against my skin.

"It's not me," Claudia added after several moments of silence, sensing something still unsaid. "This won't bring me back." Marcus's gaze fell to the ground, briefly I saw him as he must have been when Claudia had first loved him – his pale face had been smooth, his dark hair thick and long, and there had been a youthful innocence about him that was now absent from the nearly decrepit being before me.

"You are back." Without my newly enhanced vampire hearing I wouldn't have caught Marcus's whispered words. Claudia shook her head.

"Not truly," her reply was just as quiet. "I cannot stay in another's body. I will not sacrifice another for my benefit. That is something I have learned that you and the Volturi have never quite understood."

Suddenly Claudia tore from Marcus's grip and turned her attention to Rosalie.

"Give it to me," she commanded, rather harshly, an arm outstretched as Rosalie hurried to obey. My fingers lithely tore through the scarf surrounding the tiny figurine, the porcelain shown brilliantly in the dimly lit room. At first contact with the miniature elephant I felt a surge of electricity shoot through me, power rushing through my body in tidal waves. Tremors shook my arm as Claudia's grip tightened, the delicate glass beginning to crack, a loud rushing sound filling my ears, my vision blurring in a storm of colors.

Marcus lunged forward, grabbing my arm and forcing Claudia to release the figurine, but it was too late. A million tiny shards sprinkled to the ground and I felt a strange ripping in my body, as if I were being wrenched in two. Claudia was dying in me - the thought came with stark realization.

I began to fall to the ground, still with no control over my own body. Marcus's frail-looking arms held me erect, his eyes gazing heart-stricken into mine.

"Claudia," the words were whispered with more compassion than I believed physically possible. I felt Claudia fighting inside me, fighting to stay in this world as long as she could. She formed my lips into three soundless words, _I love you._

Marcus leaned in and I felt his cold lips press against mine, or I suppose at this moment they were Claudia's. At this moment my body was no longer mine, but rather the tall, golden haired body of Marcus's deceased love. Claudia kissed Marcus back with true passion, making up for centuries of lost kisses. I was reminded only too well of my last kiss with Edward before the virus had claimed his life; it was tragic that such impassioned acts had to occur in an instance of death.

The kiss lasted several more seconds, before I felt Claudia's presence notably disappearing. As their lips broke apart and Claudia was whirled away into a world I had come to know only briefly, I knew as well as both of them that this was the end.

The last kiss of a lost love.

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_I will try and get the next chapter out this weekend, but I have a x-country meet so I can't guarantee anything. Reviews might inspire me to write faster though...nudge nudge...actually, I'm really anxious to know what you thought of this chapter. Please let me know!_

_I'm thinking I'm going to wrap it up in the next chapter so thanks so much to everyone who has been so wonderful to this story! I couldn't finish it without you guys!_


	15. Trapped

_I lied. About two things: 1) I didn't post over the weekend, I'm really sorry!!!! 2) This isn't the last chapter! (yay????) I'm not going to give you any more excuses about why I didn't post, it is as it is. I'm sorry about it though. _

_Yes, this isn't the last chapter. I just couldn't find a way to resolve the whole story in only one chapter. This one is a bit shorter than usual and doesn't have as much action, but I basically like it and had a good time writing it, so I hope you like it anyways. _

_Ok, so I'm going to take one moment for promotion. I highly HIGHLY recommend looking up soveryunpretty, both her stories I've Been Busy and Not The Only Way are amazing. It's definitely worth the time to read! _

_Thanks for all the reviews! I love them all sooo much! I know you can manage just a few more for me...pretty please????_

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

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**Bella's POV**

I was trapped.

Trapped inside my own body. Claudia was gone, disappearing from my mind as swiftly as she had appeared in this nightmare of a week. She had left me disconnected from my body, floating helplessly in my own mind. Frantically I had attempted to force myself back into control, ramming forcefully into the barrier that was keeping me comatose. Eventually I had collapsed (figuratively of course) and sobbed in frustration. Would I be stuck like this forever?

Perhaps the most agitating part of all this was the fact that I was still aware. It was the same as when Claudia had been in control, I could still hear everything being said, though it sounded slightly muffled, like the voices were coming from a great distance. When a hand was placed on my body I could still feel the gentle touch and when Carlisle delicately lifted my lids I could see his beautifully worried face, though I could no more move my eyes than I could speak to him. Perhaps the only thing I wasn't aware of was smell, but I reasoned that was a result of my lack of breath.

I was a prisoner. There was no question about it.

For now I had given up fighting and resigned myself to paying attention to what was happening around me. Marcus had left. No words had been said; he simply lowered my limp body to the ground and exited the room. Nothing had been stated as to Edward's human condition, or the fact there had been another human girl present through the whole ordeal.

Part of me ached from him. He had lost his true love, the woman he cared for more than any other person on this earth, twice now. I barely managed to survive when Edward had died once, I couldn't even begin to imagine losing him again. I came to the conclusion that Marcus was stronger than I could ever hope to be.

Jane and Ryan had followed Marcus from the room. At first it had been completely silent, though I couldn't see anyone's reaction, I could infer from the lack of sound that everyone had been left dumbfounded, not quite sure of what had just happened. I wasn't exactly sure myself. All I knew at that point was that I had been left without any control over my own body.

Then I heard it. The sound I had been absent of for far too long. Edward's voice called my name and I heard the quick stamping of feet as he ran to my side, quickly kneeling to the ground. Someone approached beside him, I assumed from the length and weight of the strides it was either Carlisle or Emmett.

A hand was laid against my arm, deliciously warm against my frigid skin. I was beginning to understand how Edward felt when _I_ was the human. His other hand stroked my face gently, his fingers tracing warm lines down my cheeks.

"Bella?" his voice was laced with love and worry. I wanted to scream, to move, to do anything to let him know I was still here. My body remained deathly still.

An icy hand joined Edward's warm one on my skin and Carlisle lifted my eyelids, allowing me a brief glimpse of the scene around me, my attention quickly focusing on Edward's face, still godlike in his human state. Carlisle released his gentle hold and my eyes slid shut, much to my dismay. How frustrating this was.

"Is she alive?" I despised the despair that was evident in my love's voice. It was several moments before Carlisle answered.

"I cannot tell," he finally managed. "There are not vital signs that I could take to determine that."

_I am alive!_ I screamed at them, my voice unheard by all but me. _I'm not dead!_ More footsteps approached me, unmistakably belonging to Alice. No one else could be capable of taking such short, light steps. Her tiny fingers grasped my hand tightly and I desperately tried to squeeze her back. My efforts were futile; it was like trying to open a door that was still ten feet away.

Something wet dripped onto my face, lingering for a brief second before rolling gracefully off my cheek. It didn't take me long to realize they were tears.

Perhaps it was the thought of Edward crying for me that gave me the power I needed. I was like an overly-shaken can of coke, emotions building inside me until I nearly thought I would explode. My desire to move, to live, was overwhelming; the desperation I felt at the thought of never seeing Edward's face again nearly threw me into hysterics. I was bursting, anger, hatred, frustration, love bursting from every fiber of my being.

Then it happened. The barrier keeping me from my own mind burst; overcome with the storm of feeling cascading inside me.

My finger twitched.

"She moved!" Alice sounded ecstatic. Edward's hands stilled on my face.

"What?"

"Her finger, she moved her finger!" Carlisle kneeled next to me again. Again I gathered up all my emotions, the impossible range of feelings that were barely contained inside me, and directed all towards the small but momentous act of twitch my little finger.

"I see it," Carlisle's voice was calm but I could sense the undertone of relief.

"Bella," I could feel Edward's breath stirring the hair by my ear. "Bella, can you hear me?"

Slowly I could feel myself trickling into my body, my senses tingling as they rewired to connect with my mind. It was possibly the strangest sensation I had ever experienced.

My eyes moved beneath my lids. Edward grasped my free hand and I squeezed, if only slightly.

"Bella, squeeze Edward's hand again if you can hear me," Carlisle's professional request came through my ears, loud and crisp. I obeyed and tightened my grip on his hand. Carlisle sighed in relief.

"Oh Bella," Edward leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "I love you. I'm here for you; I promise I won't leave you."

His words filled me with such bliss I thought I would melt. Instead I opened my eyes. My angel's face was shining above mine, his perfect lips widening into a dazzling smile. I'm pretty sure I didn't look nearly as beautiful when I was still human, it really wasn't fair.

"Good morning Bella," Edward joked lightly and I began to inhale.

Then I stopped, my whole body tensing into stone. Edward's face immediately grew concerned.

"What is it?" I focused solely on not breathing.

"Bella?"

"Are you hurt?"

My eyes on Edward's face like a laser, I willed the horrible thoughts spreading in my mind away, trying to ignore the delicate pulse of the tender skin on his neck with each heartbeat, tuning my ears from the rush of blood flowing through his veins.

"Leave," my voice was rushed; I tried to speak as quickly as possible without inhaling any of his delicious scent. "You need to go."

Confusion twisted his beautiful face before realization began to dawn. Carlisle already had a hand wrapped around his arm, pulling him from my side. He was barely three feet away when I couldn't contain it anymore.

I inhaled. His scent hit me like a semi driving down the highway at ninety miles an hour. It was perhaps the most intoxicating aroma I had ever smelled in my life, consuming me, driving all other thoughts from my mind.

It was a juicy steak to a starving man.

It was candy waved in front a small child.

It was alcoholic to an addict in rehab.

All I knew was I had to have it. Nothing would matter until that scent was part of me, until I drank every last drop, the blood becoming me and I becoming the blood. Nothing else mattered.

I rolled to my side, my body aching with every movement, but I barely noticed. Venom gathered in my mouth at my prospective kill, a hundred thousand scenarios playing in my mind at once, all involving the smooth taste of blood in my mouth. Slowly I began to push myself to my feet.

"Bella, no!" Alice's tiny fists wrapped around my arms, trying to contain me, but her petit body was no match for my newborn strength. Carlisle quickened his steps, pulling Edward behind him as I wrenched free of her grip.

"Emmett, help!"

Before I could take another step Emmett's massive hands were locking my arms behind my back, Jasper's following quickly.

I fought them viciously until Carlisle herded Edward, as well as the unfamiliar human girl, from the room. A breeze blew through the doorless entrance, the cold smell of winter scouring the room clear of Edward's intoxicating scent.

Slowly I sank to the ground, partly of exhaustion but mostly of horror at my actions. Emmett tentatively released my arms and I covered my face with my hands, too ashamed to meet the eyes I knew were fixed on me. Someone rested a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Bella," Esme's voice had no hint of hatred or disgust.

"I'm a monster," I whispered, horrified.

"No, you're not." I lowered my hands to gaze sincerely into her honey eyes.

"I would've killed him." The words almost burned my tongue.

"You're a newborn Bella," Jasper interjected. "It takes years to master the control any of us have. Believe me." My gaze fell to the ground.

"Obviously Edward's blood calls to you the same yours did to him," Alice offered. "You know how much trouble he had being around you, and he'd been a vampire for nearly a century. You're barely a week old!"

Barely a week old. The words rang clear in my head. I was a vampire. Edward was a human. What a strange turn of events.

Carlisle entered the room, alone.

"He's not upset," he said softly and I lifted my eyes to meet his. "He understands."

"What are we going to do?" I questioned, pushing my guilt from my mind for the time being.

"I'm not quite sure," Carlisle replied.

"It's not difficult to fathom what Edward wants," Rosalie remarked, almost amused. I knew she was right. Edward would immediately demand being turned back into a vampire. Oh the irony.

"Alice?" Jasper's concerned voice cut through my thoughts. Alice's eyes were distant, in the throes of a vision, and her face held a horrified expression. "What do you see?"

She had no more than opened her mouth when a blood curling scream came from outside. Faster than a bolt of lightning she raced to the back door, throwing it wide open and running outside.

"Jane!" I heard her scream with more loathing than I ever would have believed possible from any of the Cullen household. Carlisle and Emmett quickly followed her, Carlisle appearing naught more than five seconds later.

"Bella, Jasper, stop breathing," he shouted urgently before rushing back outside. I followed him and stopped in horror.

Alice had Jane pinned on the ground, Emmett standing close enough that even if she managed to escape Alice's death grip she couldn't get to far before being pummeled by Emmett.

The human girl looked like she was about to faint, her hands on her mouth, obviously the only thing that was keeping her from screaming. Tears streamed down her face and she was making odd jumping motions from foot to foot, as if unsure of what to be doing.

None of this caught my attention for more than a millisecond. My eyes were glued in terror at the body lying on the snowy grass. Blood was quickly leaking from several jagged bite wounds on the neck and shoulder and the body twisted in pain.

Jane had bitten Edward.

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_I'm not quite sure how I feel about this ending. Do you think it was too OC of Jane? I can't decide. _

_Anyways, I'll write the next one as fast as possible! Please review and let me know what you think!!! All comments appreciated!_


	16. Second Change

_Ok, so I was going to make this one long final chapter, but I decided to break it into two smaller chapters so that I could put this out sooner. I'm going to be gone from Wednesday to Sunday and I knew I couldn't finish the whole story before then, so I'm giving you half now and half later. Fair enough??_

_There is really not much I have to say before this. I guess I should clarify that Jane DID bite Edward in an attempt to kill him, but thanks to Alice's wonderful foresight, she was able to stop that from happening. _

_Anyways, only one more chapter after this, so please please review! I'm anxious to know what you think of the ending chapters!_

_Enjoy!_

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**Bella's POV**

Alice took me hunting. I hated to leave even for half a day, but I could barely be around humans when properly fed, and since Edward's blood called to me so enticingly, I needed to take every precaution.

Carlisle had brought Edward inside, washing the wounds and stanching the bleeding so the rest of us could be in the house. It had been difficult at first, very difficult actually, to be so close to Edward in human form, none-the-less with open wounds, but something in me, perhaps the little human that was left kept me from losing control again - the part of me that couldn't survive without Edward, and I wouldn't be the one to make that fear a reality.

Esme was trying to comfort the bewildered human girl, Cara I believe her name was. I have to admit I did not envy her job. Barely a week had passed since I myself had been human; it wasn't a stretch for me to imagine how I might react in her situation. Actually, it probably would have involved a lot of fainting.

There was no choice but to tell her the truth. Nothing we could have devised could have been a sufficient explanation of the events that had just occurred. Part of me was wondering how she would take it. She obviously cared for Edward; there was no other way to interpret the way she kept looking at him.

I admit, I was slightly jealous. They obviously had formed a relationship, though the extent of which I did not know. I refused to believe it was anything more than friendship, there was no conceivable way Edward would do that to me.

As for Jane, there wasn't much we could've done with her. We certainly didn't dare kill her; the wrath of the Volturi wasn't something we really wanted to deal with right now. We were left with really no choice but to let her go. As Emmett took hold of her to march her far enough from Forks for comfort I saw her look truly afraid for the first time. Of course she tried to conceal it with her sneers and rude sarcasm.

"I did you a favor," she had insisted though none of us were listening to her. "You were going to change him anyways."

Apparently that was as much as Jasper could take – a rather forceful slap across the face served to shut her up quite nicely.

Shortly after Emmett and Jasper had departed to dispose of Jane, Alice insisted I go hunting with her. I admit I was frightened; I had never hunted of my own free will, though I had paid close attention when Claudia had hunted for me.

It was much more difficult than Alice's grace made it look. Apparently the quiet rhythm of the hunt took more than a little practice to master. Eventually I managed to sneak up on a rather massive buck unnoticed; his fur thick for the winter, and then instinct took over. My teeth sunk into its tough flesh like butter, warm blood soothing my throat and running down my chin. I drank until there was nothing left to drink and still I was unsatisfied.

Immediately I sprang to my feet and charged again, not paying any heed to Alice's anxious calls behind me, desperate for more. It didn't take me long to find another deer and drain its blood, the screaming hunger in my throat starting to ease. When I had finished I was aware of Alice's presence behind me and I stared at the ground in shame.

"You mustn't let it control you," she said gently, her voice understanding, not the harsh criticism I had expected. "That's the first lesson you need to learn." I nodded.

"It's so hard," my eyes met hers and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"I know. It's hard for everyone at first. But you'll learn," she half-chuckled in amusement. "Believe me, you'll learn."

We headed back to the house, where I changed my clothes and washed the blood from my face. Recently fed, I almost felt human again; no strange cravings were controlling my body and the warm pulse of blood in my system nearly flushed my cheeks.

I paid little attention what else was happening in the household, heading straight to the closed door behind which Edward was in the midst of his second transformation. I closed my eyes and stopped my breath, visualizing myself inside the room, immune to the call of Edward's blood, my only driving desire being to hold his hand through the two days of pain that still awaited him.

"You going to be ok?" Alice's faery voice caused me to snap my eyes open again.

"Yes," I said firmly, smashing any doubt from my own mind. Alice nodded in response; her belief in my boosted my own confidence even further. My hand reached forward, almost of its own accord to grip the handle, giving it a quick turn before entering the room.

Carlisle was beside the Edward's large bed; he watched me cautiously as I closed the space between me and Edward. Alice's hand rested loosely on my arm, but I didn't mind, I knew she was thinking only of Edward's, as well as my, own safety.

Surprisingly Edward was quite conscious. I was fairly certain that I not been so composed during the second day of my change. I approached slowly, concentrating heavily on my control. Once Carlisle was comfortable with the fact that I wasn't going to go berserk as I had done earlier, he moved to the edge of the room, allowing me access to my love's side.

His face was pale and his hair damp with sweat. One hand tight gripped the blankets beneath him and his breath was short and ragged. A thick gauze bandage had been taped over the wound Jane had meant to end his life with, successfully blocking out all sight and smell of potentially enticing blood. Yet despite the obvious agonizing pain, he still managed to turn his beautiful lips up into his crooked smile as his brilliant green eyes met mine.

I knew if I could still cry, tears would have been streaming down my face. The hand that wasn't squeezing the life from the thick blankets rose slightly towards mine; I clasped it tightly, the unnatural warmth of his skin causing another invisible waterfall to fall from my eyes.

"I'm so sorry." My words were barely louder than a whisper, my voice having decided to rudely abandon me.

"Don't." I was slightly surprised to hear Edward reply, his voice somewhat strained. Either Edward was insanely tolerant to pain or I was embarrassingly weak.

"It's my fault," I began before Edward's vigorously shaking head cut me off.

"Don't be stupid," he replied before tensing tightly as no doubt a wave of fire scorched the inside of his body. I realized we were alone in the room. Alice must have seen there would be no danger leaving me with him and graciously given us our privacy.

"You wouldn't have to go through this again if it wasn't for me," I insisted, my thoughts pouring from my body before I could stop them. "None of this would have happened. All I do is bring hurt to you and your family when you've done nothing but help me…"

I made to turn away in shame, but Edward's tight grip on my hand wouldn't allow it. Silent tears were running down his face and it suddenly felt unfair that he should cry when I was unable to.

"I love you," his proclamation was followed by a tight grimace and a few moments of silence as he composed himself enough to continue. "I would gladly…go through this a hundred…more times to be with you. Nothing will change that."

"It's not fair," my voice shook as though I were the one in pain. I just couldn't stand to see Edward like this, wasn't I supposed to be the one that always got the butt end of things?

"It doesn't matter," Edward whispered and I bit my lip, swallowing my sob before it erupted dryly from my throat. Why couldn't I be stronger than this?

Edward's breath hitched and I raised my eyes to him abruptly, his back arching slightly and his eyes shut tightly.

"Carlisle!" I shouted, whipping my head toward the door as the doctor entered immediately, followed closely by Alice. A muffled shout escaped Edward's lips as a groan, his head shaking back and forth as if in denial of what was happening.

"He's entering the second stage of the transformation," Carlisle explained, his face nearly as pained as Edward's. "His body has to die before it can be hardened and strengthened to vampiric proportions. I must say, his transformation is happening much faster than usual. This normally doesn't happen until nearing the end of the second day."

"Perhaps it's because he has already gone through this once before?" I suggested, my eyes never leaving Edward's face.

"Perhaps," Carlisle replied. Desperately I hoped that this was true and this agonizing transformation could be sped up.

"Bella," Edward murmured through clenched teeth, so low that I probably wouldn't have even known he'd spoken without my enhanced hearing.

"I'm here," I assured him, running my fingers gently down his perfect cheek. "I won't leave you. I promise."

And I didn't. For sixteen more brutal hours I stayed by my Edward's side, whispering soothing words, whether he was conscious or not, my hand grasped tightly in his.

Thankfully, in a record time of two days, it was over. Edward's skin grew cold and smooth against mine and his breathing slowed to a stop. For several moments he lay perfectly still; to an ignorant outsider it would have appeared s though he was dead. I knew better however, and was about to breathe his name when, swifter than the wind, his eyelids flew open, revealing the blood irises of a newborn vampire.

The somewhat frighteningly red orbs moved to glance around the room, as if processing what exactly had just happened, before locking with mine. They remained there for several seconds before he moved into a sitting position, his legs hanging off the edge of the bed and glancing from Carlisle to Alice.

"Where's Cara?" He asked and I felt my heart sink a bit. That was not what I had been expecting to hear. Carlisle and Alice looked a bit shocked as well.

"Esme took her home," Carlisle replied after a brief second. Edward's brow furrowed in distress. "She explained everything to her."

"Everything?"

"Yes, there was no alternative. She seemed surprisingly nonplused." Carlisle's eyebrows rose in what might have been amusement. Edward mulled this over silently.

"I need to hunt," he said eventually, raising himself from the bed, his eyes flickering briefly towards me. Then he left.

I remained motionless for several seconds before following Carlisle from the room. Alice was close behind me. By the time we had descended to the living room, Edward was nowhere to be seen. I was surprised however to see Jasper and Emmett, both were gazing anxiously from the open door to my somewhat shocked figure.

It was Jasper who spoke first. He stepped forward lightly, laying a pale hand on my arm. His kind amber eyes gazed sadly into mine.

"He's confused. He is not sure of anything that has happened this past week. It has nothing to do with you." I nodded slowly. I understood what Jasper meant, but that didn't necessarily make it any easier to accept. This was something Edward needed to come to terms with on his own; I only wished that he wasn't afraid to talk to me, that it was ok for him to show his fears or worries with me.

The way Jasper looked at me it was obvious he didn't need his power to know how I felt. I smiled at him in a failed attempt to reassure. Then I took a seat on the couch and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Eventually, as the sun was rising Edward returned. I was sitting in the exact same spot I had first plopped down on; Alice was half on Jasper's lap near the opposite end of the couch. Esme had returned several hours ago, followed shortly by Rosalie and Emmett, though where they had been I was unsure.

Edward came through the door silently, looking just as beautiful as ever, pausing briefly in the living room. His face was troubled and he opened his mouth to say something, but then seemingly changing his mind he turned without a word and ascended the stairs to his bedroom. I sighed softly, obviously something was deeply troubling him, and made my way to his room.

I opened the door cautiously and entered, standing silently for a few moments as Edward opened his curtains, barely making any sign of noticing my entrance.

"How was your hunt?" That was the only think I could think to say and it fell between us awkwardly. Edward leaned against the wall, still not looking at me.

"It was fine," he replied stiffly and my forehead creased in dismay. Sure some rather hectic events had occurred between us in the past week, but surely nothing to warrant this kind of behavior. What had happened to put us on such terms?

"Edward…" Was it just me, or had he flinched at my voice? "What is wrong?"

No reply.

"Can you at least look at me?" My voice was rising in frustration and I advanced several steps. Edward's eyes were full of guilt and shame as they fell to his feet, uncomplying with my wish.

"I can't."

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_Alrighty, sorry to end the chapter like this, but I really wanted to put this out before I left. Plus, I also want to write the last chapter from Edward's POV, so I had to stop and switch it somewhere:)_

_Anyways, let me know what you thought! I know you can review...only one more left!!! Than you won't ever have to review this story again (because it will be over...ha ha). _

_I'll try and finish the next chapter while I'm gone so I can have it posted by Monday. Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! As well as to those who read and don't review, I'm just hoping your enjoying the story. Ok, I'm dragging on. Ta ta!_


	17. An Ending

_Here it is...the chapter you've all been waiting for! The very last one, I'm actually sad to be done with this story. I want to sincerely thank every one who has taken the time to review and share your thoughts through the thick and thin of the story. It means so much to me, thanks soooo much!!!!!_

_I have surprisingly few things to say, considering this is the last chapter. I happen to quite like this chapter, and I hope you find it a satisfactory ending. _

_Enjoy!!!!!_

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**Edward's POV**

I could not look at her.

It was killing me. My heart ached to gaze upon Bella's stunning face, to comfort her with a smile and reassuring words. How desperately I desired to pull her into my arms, to embrace her warm body in mine.

No, not warm. Not anymore.

That was why I could not bear to look upon my love. I was a monster and I had failed her. I could not protect her, save her humanity from my kind. From other monsters like me.

"Please Edward," Bella pleaded. "What did I do wrong?"

I nearly scoffed. What had _she_ done wrong? She had done nothing but remain her beautiful, selfless self. I was the one who had done wrong. Slowly I raised my eyes to hers, the dark chocolate I had loved so dearly replaced by a disconcerting ocher.

"Nothing," I said as convincingly as I could. Bella looked perplexed and I desperately wished I could know her thoughts.

"Is it Cara?" Her voice was soft, and frightened. Was that what she was worried about? Cara?

"No," I softened my voice and gazed at her sincerely. Perhaps I was being a bit cold. It was not fair to take my anger at myself out of Bella. "Of course not."

"I just thought…"

"There is nothing between us," I assured. "She helped me when I had need. That's all." Though Bella didn't look completely convinced she at least nodded at my explanation. How could she conceivably believe that I was capable of loving anyone more than her? That was preposterous. It broke my dead heart that my previous actions had led her to believe such a thing was possible.

"Than what is wrong?" Bella sounded uncomfortably vulnerable. I longed to press my lips to hers, assuaging all her fears with a kiss. "Did I do something?"

"No," I was beginning to sound like a broken record. "You've done nothing wrong." I could tell she was getting frustrated at my beat-around-the-bush answers by the way she glared at me.

"Just tell me!"

"I couldn't protect you."

"What?" That was quite clearly not what she had been expecting. I think she still had the ridiculous notion that she was at fault.

"From Jane," I elaborated "and Claudia. I couldn't stop them from hurting you."

A smile twitched briefly at the corners of Bella's mouth and her eyes gazed at me with a passion I did not deserve. At least she didn't loathe me, lest I deserve it.

"Oh Edward," Bella sighed, shaking her head. "When will you stop punishing yourself for things that aren't your fault?" I opened my mouth to retort, but a cool finger on my lips warmed me to keep silent. Her other hand lightly touched my arm, sending a shiver of delight down my spine.

"You're a vampire, not a god," she continued. "You can't always protect me. Besides, I'm a big girl, I think I've managed well enough on my own." I scoffed and she raised an eyebrow, daring me to say what was on my mind.

"And how many times would you have been killed if it weren't for me?" I questioned, matching her expression.

"Hey, I dragged your stubborn butt back from the dead," she said pointedly. "I think that counts for something."

"Oh, so now you want a reward?" I teased, moving my face in closer to hers, breathing her intoxicating scent, altered somewhat but still as alluring as ever.

"And what sort of reward might that be?" Bella breathed, her lips lingering unhappy inches from mine.

I was so absorbed in the sweet smell of Bella's breath as her lips briefly brushed mine that I wasn't aware of Alice until she burst through the door, stopping short when she saw what she was interrupting.

"Oh," Alice's voice betrayed her surprise at our activities.

"Yes Alice?" I asked as cordially as possible. Beside me Bella snickered.

"She came back," Alice said glancing towards Bella for her reaction.

"Who?" I asked, though I already knew.

"Cara." Bella's face was as blank as a stone. I should have expected this was coming.

"Where is she?"

"In the living room." I made my way down the stairs quietly, aware of Alice and Bella just as silently following. Cara was indeed waiting in the living room, standing awkwardly, but looking as softly pretty as ever, if not somewhat frazzled. Perhaps that was somewhat due to Emmett's rather imposing presence in the doorway.

Bella, still as graceful as a newly hatched duckling, stumbled slightly, alerting Cara to our presence. Her jaw dropped slightly as she caught sight of me. I hadn't changed beyond recognition, but I certainly wan not nearly so…human as before.

"Cara," I said as gently as I could, wondering how I could possibly explain this to her any better than Esme already had.

"It's true then," he words were hardly above a whisper. "You're a…"

"A vampire," I finished for her. She paled slightly, making her freckles stand out vibrantly. I reached forward, hoping to comfort her slightly, but she flinched away from my touch.

"You don't…eat people?" Cara asked, as if needing my confirmation. She quite clearly was having trouble understanding everything Esme had told her.

"Correct," I replied, trying to seem as human as possible. Not that I had much practice there. "We, my whole family, only drink from animal." Cara's face looked somewhat more horrified than before and Alice cringed beside me. I suppose that hadn't been the most tactful way to go about it. Alice stepped forward slowly.

"You're in no danger from us," she soothed and I was grateful for someone else to take over.

"I know this is a hard thing to understand," Alice continued. "Believe me, I know. But know we mean you absolutely no harm. In fact, Carlisle, our father-figuratively speaking, is on of the best doctors around."

"A doctor?" Cara repeated, sounding a bit fazed. Alice nodded.

"One of the best. Bella here was with us as a human for two years without harm."

"But she's a vampire now." That was an unfortunately good point.

"Yes, but that's a choice I made," Bella spoke and Cara gazed at her with a hint of awe mixed with jealousy. I couldn't blame her; Bella's beauty was certainly more than a little intimidating.

"To be with Edward," Cara stated more than asked. Bella nodded. Cara's mind was awash with everything she had just been exposed to. Part of her was fascinated with what she was learning, as well as oddly accepting, while another part of her still clung to her initial fear. It appeared Esme hadn't brought up anything about vampires possessing powers and I decided to keep it that way.

"You must really love him," Cara remarked after a moment.

"I do," Bella replied, giving me a look that was reminiscent of our talk upstairs. "I would do anything for him." I doubt that I'd ever wished more for the ability to read Bella's mind than at that moment.

A loud honking came from outside. I focused my attention to the driveway where I found the thoughts of a rather annoyed taxi driver.

"I'll take care of it," I assuaged Cara's distress before swiftly exiting into the cold I no longer noticed. The bright yellow taxi stood out oddly against the dead brown of the trees. A rather heavyset and hairy taxi driver that reeked of cigars and taco meat was impatiently drumming his finger on the steering wheel. When he became aware of my approaching figure he surreptitiously rolled down his window.

"She coming or what?" he asked, scratching his whiskered face. "I gotta get paid."

I extracted a wad of bills from my pocket and held them just out of the driver's reach.

"You will wait as long as she needs and then return her directly to her house. This should keep you more than satisfied." The man's, whose name I read to be Tom, eyes never left the somber green face of Benjamin Franklin.

"Do you understand?"

"Take the broad home, as long as it takes. Got it." Despite his crude language, I sensed no ill-intention in his thoughts and handed over the money.

"Thank you sir," I added for good measure and left him to thumb through the 100-dollar bills.

Reentering the house I was pleased to see Cara somewhat more at ease, she even smiled slightly at my entrance.

"I'm sorry I ruined your evening," she said sincerely.

"Nonsense," I waved off her apology. "You're always welcome here." Even Bella nodded in approval. Cara's thoughts were reluctant.

"I guess I better leave," she relented, despite her longing. "My mom thinks I'm at the movies."

"Are you sure?" Alice inquired. "You're welcome to stay the night."

"Yeah," Emmett added. "We don't bite." Cara's eyebrows rose in shock and both Alice and I glared at him.

"Ok, ok, bad joke," he admitted though his lingering smile betrayed his true feelings.

"No," Cara smiled timidly. "I really should go or my mom will be worried."

"May I walk you out?" I asked and Cara chuckled slightly at my formality.

"Yes, you may," she nodded before turning back to the three other vampires. "It was nice to meet you all." Alice smiled gleefully.

"And you," she returned. "Thanks for taking such good care of Edward. I can't imagine it was an easy task. He is a rather…"

"Shall we leave now?" I cut her off before she could finish. Cara smiled in amusement and allowed me to lead her from the house. We walked silently across the lawn to the taxi where the driver was now waiting with a renewed patience.

Stopping by the idling vehicle, Cara suddenly flung her arms around my torso, pressing her face to my chest.

"You're cold," she mumbled and I chuckled.

"It comes with being dead, I guess," I joked lightly. She held on to me for several more moments before releasing. Tears silently streaked her face. Gently I reached my thumb to her cheek to wipe them away.

"I'll miss you," Cara said. I squeezed her arm comfortingly.

"And I you," I returned. "Though I do not think this is the last time we shall see each other."

"I hope," Cara said, opening the door of the taxi. "Bye, Edward."

"You're always welcome here Cara," I assured and she smiled in return before sliding into the backseat and closing the door. It was with more than a little sadness that I watched the cab pull from the driveway.

"She's a nice girl," Alice said beside me and I nearly jumped. She snickered. "Scare ya?" I glared at her.

"Don't worry though," Alice's eyes were distant. "She'll do fine." I smiled at the vision Alice opened to me.

"I'm glad," I remarked sincerely, feeling more content that I had in what seemed ages.

"Bella's waiting for you," Alice said, gazing into my eyes seriously. "She's worried you know. She's worried about you." I opened my mouth to retort, but she cut me off.

"She has every right to be too. None of this is your fault, you know. You're bringing her down by being so hard on yourself."

"I know. I just can't look at her without wondering if by chance I had done something different, if maybe she wouldn't be condemned to this fate."

"It's what she wants. It would have happened sooner or later. My vision never saw any different. Now go inside and let her know you still love her. That's what she needs right now."

I looked up toward the house, imagining what Bella could be doing in there as we spoke. Alice was right, Bella needed me right now.

Swiftly, ignoring Alice's triumphant grin, I made my way deftly inside to my room, where Bella was sitting quietly on my bed. She turned my direction as I entered, looking radiantly beautiful. Her face was guarded, cautious as if unsure as to how I was going to react to Cara's brief visit. I took a seat beside my love, gazing into her face tenderly.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" I asked, delighted as Bella's face broke into a grin.

"Hmm…" she mused, leaning in closer to me. "Not recently."

"Well, I guess I'll have to remedy that," I said, allowing one of my hands to snake around her waist and pull her closer, until we were but inches apart. "I love you more than Emmett loves to sleep." Bella pulled back slightly.

"But Emmett can't sleep," she furrowed her brow.

"Oh, but he wishes he could," I whispered, tapping my brow and Bella chuckled. "Not good enough? I love you more than a flower loves to bloom. More than rain loves to fall. More than a bird loves to fly and a fish loves to swim. More than…" Bella raised a finger to my lips to silence me.

"I get the point," she smiled, leaning until her breath blew a cool breeze on my cheek. "Now kiss me."

Our lips connected in a passion we had never before been allowed to experience. My instincts were telling me to pull back, to protect Bella from myself, but instead I pushed forward, opening to new levels of ecstasy we had been forbidden to experience. It was like nothing I had ever before felt.

"That was nice," Bella breathed, our lips only fractions of an inch apart. I didn't reply, only pressed myself to her again, and we eagerly repeated our first true kiss.

And then some…­­

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_Le Fin! _

_Did you like it?? Review and let me know! I'm dying to get to 400 reviews! I know you can make my dreams come true!!!!_

_Just for anyone whose interested, I'm not planning on writing any full-length stories anytime soon, but I do have several one-shots planned that go along to the death scene in Cold as Fire. So put me on your author alert if your interested in reading those when I get around to writing them!!! _

_Thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers! I love all of you guys! _

_(And Qaz, you should be happy. No Jacob at all in the whole chapter.)_

_Au revoir!_


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